The Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation (PHDC), Dr. Toni Aubynn, has called on investors to take advantage of the strategic importance of investing in Ghana’s petroleum hub, which opens up opportunities across the energy value chain in West Africa.
Speaking at the Africa Oil Week (AOW) conference at the Kempinski Hotel on the theme, “Bankable Infrastructure and Strategic Value Chain Opportunities,” Dr. Aubynn noted that Africa imports about 85% of its petroleum products from Northwest Europe, the Mediterranean, Asia, the US, and South America, with only 15% coming from within the continent.
He explained that the gap between the production capacity of the subregion and its import demand constitutes the core market PHDC is seeking to address.
To attract investors, Dr Aubynn highlighted that Ghana has rolled out significant incentives to attract global capital.
“Ghana has laid a red carpet for those interested in investing in these areas, including non-monetary incentives like tax-free arrangements,” he stated.
Addressing questions regarding feedstock supplies for the hub, Dr Aubynn addressed concerns regarding feedstock availability as a prerequisite for launching the project.
“People ask: ‘You don’t have feedstock, so why do you build this?’ I explain that you don’t need local feedstock before establishing a petroleum hub.”
He, however, clarified that sourcing supply is purely a commercial decision.
“Getting feedstock is an economic matter. You just have to balance your structures of production and capital with the market opportunities available.”
Strategically located in the Western Region, the Petroleum Hub is being developed to create an integrated petroleum and petrochemical ecosystem where crude oil and other feedstocks can be processed, refined, and transformed into value-added products within Ghana.
The development is designed to bring together refining, petroleum product storage, petrochemical production, and related industrial activities in one strategic location while providing efficient access to both domestic and regional markets.
Dr Aubynn further encouraged investors to look beyond the traditional petroleum business and consider the broader opportunities that the Ghana Petroleum Hub will create across the entire energy value chain.
He told participants at the conference that the era of exporting raw materials for processing elsewhere and importing finished products back into the region must be a thing of the past.
As such, when fully operational, the Ghana Petroleum Hub will create an environment where processing, value addition, and sustainable industrial development take root directly on home soil.
About the Petroleum Hub Project
The Petroleum Hub Project will be located in Jomoro, in Ghana’s Western Region. The hub will comprise three refineries with a total capacity of 900,000 barrels per stream day (BPSD) and five petrochemical plants with a minimum capacity of 90,000 BPSD. Storage tanks with a cumulative capacity of 10 million cubic meters and at least two jetties to support import and export activities.
The project is poised to position Ghana as a leading petroleum and petrochemical hub in Africa, enhancing regional energy security and economic integration.
