Oil Refinery To Be Set Up At Saltpond

An oil refinery to produce 200 barrels of refined oil a day will commence operations in February this year. The facility, which is being set up at Saltpond in the Central Region by the Ildago International Group, will offer jobs to about 7,000 Ghanaians and 1,500 expatriates.

A team of experts, led by the Chief Executive Officer of Ildago International Group, Mr Ilija Divkovic, is to inspect the project site prior to the commencement of its operations.

This was disclosed by a representative of the company, Prof Kwame Eshun-Wilson, to the Daily Graphic in Accra. He said the project was being sited at Saltpond because it was the oil field of Ghana.

Prof Eshun-Wilson said 70 per cent of the oil refined would be exported, while the remaining 30 per cent would be sold locally.

He said a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the company and the Ministry of Energy on June 5, 2006.

Prof Eshun-Wilson said the company had completed an environmental impact assessment study on the project, adding that its aim was to break the monopoly of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).

He also explained that the refinery would take oil from all over the world and refine it into petrol, kerosene and gasoline.

He urged Ghanaian experts leaving the country to stay because their services would be needed to help make the project a viable one.

He said accommodation would be provided for the workers, while a secondary school would be built in the community as part of the company’s social responsibility.

Prof Eshun-Wilson said another MOU was expected to be signed for a second refinery, probably parallel in construction to that at Saltpond, in Winneba or Cape Coast, adding that hotels would be constructed in the two places to boost the hospitality industry in the catchment area.