The ongoing Takoradi Port Expansion Project has already started attracting investments into the Port’s Oil & Gas enclave as the Ghana Ports & Harbors Authority (GPHA) works to position the Takoradi Port as a major maritime services support hub along the west coast of Africa.

COX OIL, a Texas based oil and Gas Company has announced plans to build a $600 million state of the art oil refinery plant at the Takoradi Port area. The project would come with the associated infrastructure required the West African sub-regional market.

Chris Wilmot, CEO of Takoradi Oil Refinery Company Limited, the project sponsors, and Brad Cox and Craig Sanders, Chairman and CEO respectively of COX OIL the investors, paid a working visit to the port on Tuesday July 29, 2014 and met with the Director General of the Ghana Ports & Harbors Authority and other stakeholders at the proposed project site.

According to the investors, Takoradi port was chosen as the site of their new refinery for obvious strategic reasons, chief among them is the existing infrastructure at the port and the ongoing expansion program that GPHA has embarked upon to improve the port.

In a statement, CEO of COX Oil, Craig Sanders said “all the necessary ingredients for a win–win situation are here at the Takoradi port. You have an active operating port with ready and easy access to receive your feedstock and ship your products, the rail line and road networks terminates right at the port, the safety of our operations in a special designated zone is assured, the security of tenor of the land on which the refinery would be built is assured by our long term lease with GPHA, you are located in a modern and growing city that could support relatively good quality of life for families and businesses, you have abundant human capital that would provide experienced labor force. We couldn’t have asked for a more suitable location.”

The CEO of Takoradi Oil Refinery Company Limited, Chris Wilmot has assured partners of the project that they would employ the best practices to make the project extremely beneficial to Ghana’s economy.

“Texas is the world capital of the oil, gas and the energy sector and we want to replicate the efficiencies and best corporate practices of Texas right here in Ghana for the benefit of the Ghanaian economy and people of Ghana. This project seeks to enhance energy security for Ghana and the sub region.”

The refinery will be built on approximately 100 acres of reclaimed land at the harbor in an area designated specifically as a Maritime Industrial Enclave.

As part of the ongoing Takoradi Port Expansion Project, the GPHA will reclaim more than 1,200 hectares of land and deepen the harbor basin to minus 20 meters to enable post PANAMAX ships to call at the port.

Other ports infrastructure and access roads to and from the port would also be improved to ease traffic congestion. The sea ports of Takoradi and Tema in Ghana are seen as growth poles and drivers of economic activities and national development.

According to the project sponsors and investors, the construction of the refinery is slated to kick off in the first quarter of 2015.

COX OIL projects that the Takoradi Oil Refinery Company Limited will start operations within 2 years after project commencement date.

Takoradi Oil Refinery Company Limited would have a production capacity of about 65000 barrels of oil per day.