Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, Dr. Yusif Sulemana, says declining global crude oil prices and plans to refine more locally produced crude are expected to ease pressure on fuel prices and provide some relief for consumers at the pumps.
His comments follow President John Dramani Mahama’s sod-cutting ceremony for Phase II of the Sentuo Oil Refinery project in Tema on Thursday June 25, 2026, an expansion that is expected to increase the refinery’s processing capacity from 40,000 barrels per day to 100,000 barrels per day.
According to Dr. Sulemana, the expansion represents a major milestone for Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector, as the refinery’s full capacity would be sufficient to meet a significant portion of the country’s daily petroleum product demand.
He noted that Ghana’s daily consumption is estimated at about 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent, making the refinery’s planned capacity a strategic asset in strengthening domestic fuel supply and reducing reliance on imported refined products.
“If a local refinery can be able to produce to be able to meet a local requirement that has a lot of significance and a lot of positive connotations. The fact that we are using our local crude to do this job, it is going to create a lot of jobs,” he said.
Dr. Yusif Sulemana said the government’s strategy of ensuring that locally produced crude is refined in locally operated refineries is critical to building a more integrated energy sector and improving energy security.
He explained that linking Ghana’s upstream oil production with domestic refining activities creates additional value across the petroleum value chain, supports industrial development and generates employment opportunities.
The Technical Advisor observed that previous approaches treated upstream and downstream operations as separate segments of the industry, limiting the country’s ability to maximise the benefits of its petroleum resources.
He said the current strategy seeks to create the necessary enabling environment for local crude to be profitably refined within Ghana.
“I think we have gotten the strategy right at this time, that we want to create all enabling environment that is required to make sure that our locally produced crude is profitably refined in our locally run refineries and that would grant us a lot of energy security,” he remarked.
Dr. Yusif Sulemana further noted that the easing of global market pressures, including the decline in crude oil prices to levels seen before recent geopolitical disruptions, provides additional support for the local refining agenda.
According to him, lower crude prices reduce feedstock costs for refiners and can ultimately translate into lower fuel prices for consumers when combined with increased domestic refining capacity.
Dr. Yusif Sulemana said the combination of lower international crude prices and a deliberate policy to refine more crude locally positions the country to achieve greater energy security while helping to moderate fuel price pressures in the domestic market.
“Crude oil prices coming down a little bit, that makes it easier to even bring this crude oil to refine locally. Also, it impacts the pumps undoubtedly because whatever we pay at the pump has to do with the cost of the raw material that has been sent to do the refining locally.
“With crude oil prices going down and we also strategizing to ensure that our locally produced crude oil is refined in our local refineries, it is going to guarantee us holistic energy security, the pressures at the pumps undoubtedly are going to be something that will be accommodating to the consumer,” he stated.
Sentuo Oil Refinery recently received approximately one million barrels of crude oil from the Jubilee Field for processing, marking a significant step in the government’s efforts to deepen local value addition within the petroleum sector.
