Tema Oil Refinery faces a huge money problem with debts reaching $517 million. The company keeps owing this cash even though people have paid special taxes since 2003 to help fix the debt. Edmund Kombat runs TOR right after the previous leader left and told reporters about these financial troubles. He spoke to news people after meeting with Parliament members who watch over energy matters. The debt keeps growing despite years of efforts to bring it down.
TOR owes money because companies delivered crude oil but never received payment for their supplies. Some debts come from old business deals that went bad many years ago. The government gave TOR money as gifts before but the International Monetary Fund made officials change these gifts into loans on paper. Third parties also demand money that TOR borrowed but could not pay back. Bad planning for trades made the company lose even more cash when oil prices changed quickly.
Kombat promises TOR will check all its debts carefully to see exactly how much money the company really owes. Workers are looking through old records to find out which debts are real and which ones might be mistakes. The refinery plans to restart making fuel again around October next year. TOR needs to fix major equipment like the Crude Distillation Unit and another machine that processes heavy oil. Leaders want Parliament to help them stop the bad money management that has hurt Ghana's only oil refinery for many years.
TOR owes money because companies delivered crude oil but never received payment for their supplies. Some debts come from old business deals that went bad many years ago. The government gave TOR money as gifts before but the International Monetary Fund made officials change these gifts into loans on paper. Third parties also demand money that TOR borrowed but could not pay back. Bad planning for trades made the company lose even more cash when oil prices changed quickly.
Kombat promises TOR will check all its debts carefully to see exactly how much money the company really owes. Workers are looking through old records to find out which debts are real and which ones might be mistakes. The refinery plans to restart making fuel again around October next year. TOR needs to fix major equipment like the Crude Distillation Unit and another machine that processes heavy oil. Leaders want Parliament to help them stop the bad money management that has hurt Ghana's only oil refinery for many years.
