Global oil crises a wake-up call for Ghana – Deputy CEO urges Petroleum Hub fast-track
Ghana must accelerate the development of its Petroleum Hub project to safeguard its energy future and reduce reliance on foreign supplies, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Operations and Technical at the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation, Onasis Kobby Rosely, has said.
Speaking on Okay FM, Mr Rosely highlighted current global geopolitical tensions, including the ongoing conflict in Iran, as a wake-up call for Ghana and the African continent. He warned that disruptions in international oil markets could affect domestic economic stability, underlining the urgency of developing local energy infrastructure.
“The Petroleum Hub project will, in the long term, secure our energy future and generate revenue for the country. What is happening in the Middle East should be a wake-up call for us,” he said.
Mr Rosely emphasised the need to bolster domestic refining capacity as a short-term measure to cushion Ghana from global shocks. He called for increased support for the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and the Sentuo Oil Refinery, noting that local refining of Ghana’s oil resources would mitigate the immediate effects of supply disruptions.
“The NPA says we have six weeks of stocks, and already one week has passed. What we need to do is focus on internal refining. We must consider refining locally the oil we produce in this country,” he said. “Now that TOR has become operational, we must boost its capacity to refine fuel in large quantities. We also have Sentuo Refinery, and we should collaborate with them.”
Looking ahead, Mr Rosely stressed that the Petroleum Hub project offers a long-term solution to Africa’s energy security challenges. The project, he explained, will include three refineries with a combined capacity of 900,000 barrels per stream day, storage tanks capable of holding 10 million cubic metres, and five multi-purpose petrochemical plants producing 90,000 barrels per day.
He further observed that other African nations are increasingly looking to Ghana as a regional leader in energy production. Previously, many Sahelian countries routed their petroleum and petrochemical products through Ivory Coast, but Ghana’s emerging hub could now serve as a central processing and distribution point.
“For the long term, I’m sure we have all realised that we cannot rely on Asia for energy security. This is because that region is prone to conflicts, and those conflicts tend to escalate and affect other countries,” he said. “Those countries alone consume almost 4 million metric tonnes of petroleum products annually. If we have a Petroleum Hub project here where we can refine 900,000 bpsd, with 10 million cubic metres of storage and five petrochemical plants, we would have enough stock for our country and for export.”