President John Dramani Mahama has announced that Ghana will begin refining its own crude oil locally from June as part of efforts to promote value addition and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.
According to the President, the initiative marks a major step in the country’s efforts to maximize the benefits of its oil resources by processing crude oil domestically rather than exporting it in its raw form.
Speaking during an engagement with members of the Ghanaian community in the United Kingdom, Mr. Mahama said government is preparing to deliver a consignment of crude oil from Ghana’s offshore fields to the country’s refinery for processing.
“We are about to make history again. We are about to start to refine our own crude and so in June, we are delivering a parcel of Ghanaian crude from our own oil fields to the oil refinery to process,” he stated.
The President explained that refining crude oil locally is a key component of government’s value-addition agenda, which seeks to ensure that more economic benefits remain within the country.
He noted that Ghana has for years exported crude oil and other raw materials for processing abroad, only to import finished products at higher costs.
“Normally we produce the oil and we export it and then we import finished products. We need to pursue value addition not only in the mining sector and the oil and gas sector, but also in agriculture and manufacturing,” he said.
Mr. Mahama stressed that local refining will help create jobs, support industrial growth and strengthen the economy by retaining more value within the country.
The President added that government is also working to expand oil and gas production through new investment agreements aimed at increasing output from existing offshore fields.
He reiterated government’s commitment to promoting local processing across key sectors of the economy to drive sustainable growth and industrialisation.
Source: Mubarak Yakubu
