Mahama announces historic first delivery of Ghanaian crude to local refinery

President John Dramani Mahama has announced what he described as a major milestone in Ghana’s energy and industrial transformation agenda, revealing that the country will soon begin refining its own crude oil locally as part of a broader strategy to boost industrialisation, create jobs, and increase value addition within the economy.

Addressing hundreds of Ghanaians, investors, professionals and business leaders at the Ghana Diaspora Town Hall Meeting in London, President Mahama outlined his administration’s vision of transforming Ghana from a raw material-exporting economy into a competitive industrial and manufacturing hub driven by local production and value addition.

Speaking on the future of Ghana’s energy sector, the President disclosed that the government is pursuing an aggressive expansion of offshore oil and gas production while simultaneously strengthening domestic refining capacity to process more of the country’s natural resources at home.

According to him, Ghana has already secured significant upstream investment commitments, including approximately US$1.5 billion from ENI for operations in the Offshore Cape Three Points Field (OCTP), aimed at increasing both crude oil and natural gas production.

However, President Mahama stressed that increased production alone is insufficient if the country continues exporting raw resources without capturing their full economic value.

“We are about to make history again. We did it during my first term, but after we left office it did not continue. In June, we will deliver a parcel of Ghanaian crude from our own oil fields to a refinery in Ghana for processing,” he announced.

The President’s announcement is being viewed as a significant development in Ghana’s petroleum industry and a major step toward reducing reliance on imported refined petroleum products.

For decades, Ghana has exported crude oil and imported refined fuels, a model that President Mahama said deprives the country of jobs, industrial growth, technological development, and valuable foreign exchange earnings.

“Normally we produce the oil and export it. Then we import finished petroleum products or import crude again to refine. That cycle must change,” he stated.

According to the President, local refining will allow Ghana to retain more value from its natural resources, strengthen domestic supply chains, improve energy security, conserve foreign exchange, and create thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities.

He explained that the initiative forms part of a broader industrial strategy designed to build a fully integrated petroleum value chain encompassing exploration, production, refining, storage, petrochemicals, manufacturing, distribution, and exports.

Beyond the petroleum sector, President Mahama called for greater emphasis on value addition across all productive sectors of the economy.

Using the mining industry as an example, he noted that Ghana continues to export raw minerals such as gold, bauxite, and manganese for processing abroad before importing finished products at higher costs.

“When we export raw materials and somebody else processes them, we create jobs in their economy instead of our own. The finished products are then exported back to us. That model cannot deliver sustainable prosperity,” he said.

The President argued that Ghana’s long-term economic success depends on deliberate investments in manufacturing, agro-processing, mineral beneficiation, petrochemicals, fertiliser production, food processing, and industrial parks capable of supporting large-scale value addition.

Economic observers believe the strategy could strengthen Ghana’s position as a leading industrial and manufacturing destination in West Africa while accelerating technology transfer, export growth, and sustainable job creation.

The planned delivery of Ghanaian crude oil to a local refinery in June is expected to serve as a symbolic milestone in Ghana’s industrialisation journey, demonstrating a renewed commitment to economic self-reliance and domestic value creation.

President Mahama concluded by reiterating that value addition must become the cornerstone of Ghana’s development model.

“We must pursue value addition not only in oil and gas, but in mining, agriculture, manufacturing and every sector of our economy,” he said.

The announcement was one of the major highlights of the Ghana Diaspora Town Hall Meeting, where the President engaged members of the Ghanaian community abroad on economic reforms, investment opportunities, industrial policy initiatives, and the government’s long-term transformation agenda.