Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Mr. Edmond Kombat has revealed refinery operations will commence in October this year.

He informed the Parliamentary Committee on Energy on Sunday, June 22, when he briefed the committee on the leadership's mandate, work plans for the year 2025, and their operational challenges.

The engagement forms part of the committee’s oversight responsibility of the agencies under the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition.

In his submission, Mr. Edmond Kombat indicated that TOR will continue with the gantry and terminal upgrade.

The current leadership will also complete ongoing projects commenced by the previous administration as well as work on their debt and financial restructuring as well as retooling of their laboratory.

Presently, the refinery is wallowing in debt worth $517 million after being inactive for the past four years. The current debt is as of December 2024.

The Managing Director said: “There were times that the Ministry of Finance in the past had given some funds to TOR and some of it, for example, was grants and then when they entered into the agreement with the IMF, the IMF asked them to reclassify it as debt.

“So, those things have accumulated to that amount of money and I think the last time TOR traded, some of the trades were not hedged,” he said.

“We are doing that verification and once we do that verification and authentication of what we have been able to bring down, that will be communicated publicly,” Mr. Edmond Kombat.

According to him, for the past 6 months, TOR had not audited its financial accounts.

The Managing Director made a special appeal to the parliamentary committee to help them resolve some of their challenges.

They include restructuring of their debts with the ESLA receivables, converting GOG debts into equity,reinstating the TOR portion of the ESLA Levy, allowing TOR to participate in the primary distribution margin, and giving TOR a representation on the Laycan Committee, among others.

For several years, TOR has failed to operate efficiently due to lack of crude oil and other factors.