TOR TO EMBARK ON EXPANSION PROGRAMME (PAGE 18, MARCH 27, 2010)

The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) will soon undertake an expansion programme to enable it to maintain consistency in its production processes.
As part of the programme, TOR is taking steps to install a new Crude Distillation Unit (CDU), increase its storage facilities and automate the gantry section for maximised production.
This is expected to increase its present capacity from 45,000 barrels to 145,000 barrels.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Tema, the Public Relations Manager of TOR, Mrs Aba Lokko, stated that the government’s intervention to settle part of the refinery’s debt had enhanced its credibility and would pave way for it to discuss its financing with financial institutions.
She said the refinery’s present capacity of 45,000 barrels could serve at most 65 per cent of the consuming population, with the remaining 35 per cent being supplemented by private suppliers.
She said the refinery would also be able to store more oil and be consistent in the supply after the expansion programme.
Mrs Lokko explained that with the expansion, the refinery would be able to satisfy more than 90 per cent of the public’s demand .
She said with the completion of work on the Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC), TOR was ready to receive crude oil for internal refining.
Mrs Lokko also explained that the refinery would be able to make available, various gases which it had hitherto imported.
She noted that the RFCC was used to compress its valuable products including Liquefied Petroleum gas (LPG) which recently became a scarce commodity on the market and that once there was no legislation barring cars from using the LPG, the refinery had a duty to satisfy the needs of people.
On the automation of the gantry, Mrs Lokko said the manual system in use at the refinery was not efficient, and, therefore, caused supply disruption at the distribution point.
She said the fully automated system would minimise the disruption in the supply of finished products.
TOR is collaborating with the private sector to appoint a consultant and go through tender, engineering and procurement processes for construction work to start on the new gantry and end by the end of the year and was optimistic that very soon, TOR would bounce back.