The Institute of Energy Security (IES) has called on the government to revive the Tema Oil Refinery.

Reaching a stable and affordable price for petroleum products has been difficult for successive governments and the current administration is currently seeking alternative fuel arrangements to ease pressure on the limited forex available in a novel gold-for-oil programme.

The institute, however, believes that the country must rather focus on the local production of petroleum products by reviving TOR while encouraging private sector investments in the refinery business.

Nana Amoasi VII the Executive Secretary of the Institute of Energy Security in an interview with Citi News said a fully functional TOR can drastically reduce the country’s oil imports.

“We have an existing Tema Oil Refinery that can produce 45,000 barrels per day that can meet almost half of our daily demand. Tema Oil Refinery is not going to give us only that assurance of fuel supply, it is also a ground to train our engineers.”

Nana Amoasi VII also alleged that the continued neglect of the Tema Oil Refinery is due to the parochial interest of people who benefit from the importation of Crude.

“We believe that it is not in the interest of some groups to see the TOR work. If that is not the case then the Energy Minister and the President would have been more focused on this arrangement than focus on gold for oil and put a value on somebody’s oil against your own crude.”