Al Qahtani Group Deepens Talks with PHDC on Ghana’s Petroleum Hub
Accra | 15 September 2025 - A delegation from Saudi Arabia’s Al Qahtani Group has held discussions in Accra with the Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation (PHDC), exploring long-term partnership under Ghana’s flagship Petroleum Hub initiative. The meeting addressed financing models, technology transfer, and regulatory frameworks aimed at advancing implementation of refinery, storage, and logistics infrastructure.
The Petroleum Hub project, officially launched in 2019, is estimated to require $60 billion in investment, with construction planned across 20,000 acres in the Jomoro District of Ghana’s Western Region, according to PHDC. Once complete, it is projected to host refining capacity of up to 1.5 million barrels per day and generate over 780,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The latest talks follow PHDC’s global investor engagements in Malaysia and Accra earlier this year, which sought to attract capital from Asia, Europe, and the Gulf. Analysts note that interest from Middle Eastern groups such as Al Qahtani aligns with broader investment patterns, as Gulf-based firms increasingly pursue downstream opportunities across Africa.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), African oil demand is projected to rise by more than 40% by 2040, creating space for new refining capacity. Yet financing remains a challenge: the hub’s scale is unprecedented in the region, and long-term returns must be weighed against global energy transition pressures. As one regional energy analyst told PetroPulse, “For Ghana, the Petroleum Hub could be transformative. But investors will require strong assurances on regulatory stability and market access before committing capital at this scale.”
The Al Qahtani Group, with a track record in energy services and infrastructure across the Gulf, brings both technical expertise and financial strength. Further negotiations are expected in 2025, with preliminary agreements potentially tied to Ghana’s mid-year investment roadshow. For PHDC, securing anchor partners will be key to moving the project from concept to execution.
