By: Ecofin Agency

Ecobank Ghana will raise funds to finance the expansion of a crude oil refinery in Ghana. The pan-African lender has been appointed to coordinate financing for the second phase of expansion of Sentuo Oil, the country's first private refinery. The parties formalized the arrangement through a memorandum of understanding signed in Accra, according to MyJoyOnline on June 5.

Specifically, Ecobank will assemble a syndicate of local, regional, and international banks to mobilize the $200 million required for the project. “We remain firmly committed to financing initiatives that unlock growth, create jobs and deepen Ghana’s industrial capacity,” said Abena Osei-Poku, Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, during the signing ceremony.

Expansion Targets Refining and Petrochemical Growth

The second phase of development aims to transform the refinery into a more diversified industrial facility capable of producing both refined petroleum products and petroleum-based chemicals. The project will increase processing capacity to 100,000 barrels per day from 40,000 barrels per day, according to official data.

Sentuo Oil refinery was built by the Chinese Sentuo Group and was inaugurated in January 2024 by former President Nana Akufo-Addo following a total investment of $1.98 billion. In its current configuration, the facility processes up to 40,000 barrels of crude oil per day, according to company figures.

Unlike the state-owned Tema Oil Refinery, Sentuo was designed to process crude oil produced domestically in Ghana, including output from the country’s offshore oil fields. The refinery also benefits from an agreement with the government that allows it to source part of its crude supply from domestic producers, according to energy consultancy Petro-Logistics.

During the refinery’s inauguration in 2024, Akufo-Addo acknowledged that Ghana relied on imports for 97% of its fuel consumption. Authorities presented the Sentuo expansion project as a mechanism to gradually reduce that dependence and strengthen domestic energy security.

In July 2024, Sentuo Group announced an additional investment of $980 million for the expansion project after securing its full operating license. At the time, Sentuo Group Chairman Xu Ningquan argued that Africa should process a greater share of its crude oil domestically rather than exporting it for refining abroad, according to Citi News Room.

The Ecobank-led financing initiative represents a concrete step toward that objective. The development comes only days after President John Dramani Mahama announced that Tema Oil Refinery was preparing to process its first cargo of crude sourced from Ghana’s offshore oil fields. The refinery is expected to receive the shipment later this month, marking another milestone in the country’s efforts to increase local crude processing and reduce reliance on imported petroleum products.