The Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Edmond B. Kombat, has been honoured by the Assemblies of God Ghana for his contribution to public service and the Church.
Mr Kombat received the recognition at the opening of the 32nd Biennial General Council Meeting of the Assemblies of God Ghana at the Pentecost Convention Centre, Gomoa-Fetteh, where President John Dramani Mahama and other government and Church leaders were present.
The recognition comes at a significant point in Mr Kombat’s tenure at TOR, where his leadership has coincided with a major push to restore the state-owned refinery to sustained operations after years of financial and operational difficulties.
Mr Kombat, in a post on Facebook, said he received the honour with humility, describing it as a reminder that leadership was ultimately about “service, integrity, sacrifice and impact.”
He said Christians in public service had a responsibility to demonstrate their faith through character, excellence, humility and commitment to the public good.
“Our positions are temporary, but the impact of our service can endure,” he said, attributing the honour to God.
Turning TOR around
Mr Kombat was appointed Managing Director of TOR in January 2025, after initially joining the refinery as Deputy Managing Director. His mandate came at a difficult period for the refinery, which had endured years of operational downtime, financial distress and uncertainty over its future.
Since then, TOR has recorded several significant milestones in its effort to return to productive operations.
One of the most important was the refurbishment and return to service of the refinery’s Crude Distillation Unit (CDU), a critical component of the refining process. The refurbished unit was officially commissioned in August 2026, marking a major step in TOR’s operational revival.
The refinery has also resumed receiving significant volumes of crude oil. In July, TOR received one million barrels of Ghana’s indigenous Jubilee crude, its third one-million-barrel crude cargo since May 2026, following supplies of Bonga and Baleine crude.
The return of Ghanaian crude to the refinery is particularly significant because it strengthens the link between the country’s upstream petroleum production and domestic refining, potentially reducing dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
TOR has also strengthened its financial management. According to Mr Kombat, the refinery recorded a profit in 2025, with foreign exchange gains and disciplined treasury management identified as major contributors to the improved financial position.
The refinery’s revival has attracted recognition from industry regulators and other stakeholders. The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has commended TOR management and staff for the rapid improvement in operational efficiency and the efforts to restore the refinery.
Mr Kombat has also overseen efforts to rebuild the refinery’s human-resource base. TOR has recruited 300 young engineers into permanent positions, while the turnaround maintenance programme and other projects have generated additional temporary employment through contractors and local subcontractors.
His leadership at TOR has already attracted another major recognition. In May 2026, he was honoured at the Ghana CEO Summit with the “Outstanding Public Leadership Excellence in the Public Sector” award for his leadership, strategic vision and efforts to advance operational excellence and institutional transformation at TOR.
Beyond the immediate revival of refining operations, Mr Kombat has pushed for strategic partnerships and infrastructure improvements, including collaboration with Ghana Gas to explore the construction of a gas pipeline that would allow TOR to transition from fuel oil to natural gas to power its utilities.
Service beyond the boardroom
For Mr Kombat, however, the latest recognition is not simply an acknowledgment of his professional achievements.
Reflecting on the Assemblies of God honour, he cited a charge from his spiritual father, Rev. Stephen Yenusom Wengam, that Christians are called to be “the light of the world and the salt of the earth.”
He said that message should guide Christians serving in public institutions to ensure that their work reflects integrity, excellence and a commitment to the national interest.
His comments come as TOR seeks to consolidate its recent gains and position itself as a reliable contributor to Ghana’s energy security and industrialisation agenda.
The refinery, established in 1963, has a nameplate capacity of 45,000 barrels per day but has operated below capacity for prolonged periods because of ageing infrastructure, crude supply challenges and financial constraints.
Under Mr Kombat’s leadership, the immediate challenge is therefore not only to restart the refinery, but to sustain operations, improve efficiency and restore TOR as a commercially viable strategic national asset.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
