President John Dramani Mahama has announced a landmark breakthrough in Ghana’s energy and industrial transformation agenda, revealing that Ghana will, for the first time in years, begin refining its own crude oil locally as part of a comprehensive strategy to drive industrialization, create jobs, strengthen local manufacturing, and retain greater value within the national 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 for transforming Ghana from an exporter of raw materials into a modern industrial economy powered by value addition and local production.
Speaking passionately about the future of Ghana’s energy sector, President Mahama disclosed that the government is aggressively expanding offshore oil and gas production while simultaneously ensuring that the country develops the capacity to process more of its natural resources domestically.
According to the President, Ghana has secured major upstream investments, including a fresh commitment of approximately US$1.5 billion from ENI in the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) Field to increase the production of both oil and natural gas.
However, he stressed that increased production alone is not enough.
“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,” President Mahama announced to loud applause from the audience.
The announcement is being viewed as a defining moment in Ghana’s petroleum industry and a significant step toward reducing the country’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
For decades, Ghana has exported crude oil while importing refined fuels and petroleum products at considerable cost. President Mahama argued that such a model effectively exports jobs, technology, industrial growth, and economic opportunities to other countries.
“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.
He explained that local refining will enable Ghana to capture more value from its natural resources, retain foreign exchange, strengthen local supply chains, stimulate industrial growth, and create thousands of direct and indirect jobs for Ghanaians.
The President emphasized that the refining initiative forms part of a broader national industrial strategy aimed at building a fully integrated petroleum value chain encompassing extraction, refining, storage, petrochemicals, distribution, manufacturing and exports.
Beyond oil and gas, President Mahama called for a national commitment to value addition across every productive sector of the economy.
Using Ghana’s mineral sector as an example, he noted that the country continues to export raw gold, manganese, bauxite and other minerals for processing abroad, only to import higher-value finished products at a premium.
“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 stressed that Ghana’s future economic success depends on deliberately moving up the value chain through investments in manufacturing, agro-processing, mineral beneficiation, fertilizer production, petrochemicals, food processing and strategic industrial parks.
Economic analysts believe the strategy could significantly reposition Ghana as a leading industrial hub in West Africa while accelerating job creation, technology transfer and export growth.
The planned June delivery of Ghanaian crude to a local refinery is expected to become one of the most symbolic events in Ghana’s modern economic history, demonstrating a renewed commitment to self-reliance, industrialization and domestic value creation.
President Mahama concluded by reaffirming that value addition must become the foundation 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.”
The announcement formed one of the key highlights of the Ghana Diaspora Town Hall Meeting in London, where President Mahama engaged members of the Ghanaian community abroad on his government’s economic transformation agenda, investment opportunities, industrial policy reforms and plans to position Ghana as a competitive manufacturing and processing destination on the African continent.
With Ghana preparing to refine its own crude oil once again, the initiative is being hailed as more than an energy-sector achievement. It represents a bold national vision to create jobs, expand local industries, strengthen economic resilience, and build a prosperous industrial economy that delivers lasting benefits for future generations.
