President Akufo-Addo commissions Chinese-built oil refinery
ACCRA, January 31, 2024 – Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Friday commissioned the completion of the first phase of a Chinese-built oil refinery in Tema, a port city in southern Ghana.
The Sentuo Oil Refinery, which was built by a private Chinese company, is expected to provide thousands of jobs after the two-phased project is completed.
Addressing the gathering, Akufo-Addo said the authorisation of the refinery to be set up in the country represented Ghana’s quest to secure its energy future.
“The refinery will not only provide a stable supply of petroleum products but also create jobs, empower local communities, and drive investment in related industries, contributing to the realisation of our vision of industrialisation,” said Akufo-Addo.
He further emphasised that the establishment of the refinery is a product of the long-standing relations between Ghana and China.
Chinese Ambassador to Ghana Lu Kun observed that the commissioning of the refinery is a continued commitment of the Chinese business community to invest in Ghana for economic growth, emphasising that China and Ghana have maintained solid and close ties.
“Developing solidarity and cooperation with African countries, including Ghana, has been the cornerstone of China’s foreign policy, and a firm and longstanding strategy,” Lu added.
According to Xu Ningquan, Executive Chairman of China’s Sentuo Group, the two-phased construction is expected to be completed by 2025 and will play an important role in Ghana’s energy supply.
“I believe that through our collective efforts, the oil refinery project will achieve greater success, sharing more of its outcomes with the people in Ghana,” said.
The first phase of the new refinery is expected to process an initial stage 40,000 barrels per day and then scale-up to 100,000 barrels per day by the end of the year.
Inaugurating the new facility, President Akufo-Addo said his government was committed to revamping the state-owned Tema Oil Refinery and would stop at nothing to ensure that such important asset was operational.
“The challenges of another domestic oil refinery, the Tema Oil Refinery, are well documented. Nonetheless, I want to assure the Ghanaian people that the Government remains committed to the full operationalisation of Tema Oil Refinery, and we will stop at nothing to bring it back on stream so that together with Sentuo, more and more of our oil will be refined right here in Ghana,” he noted.
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