TAZAMA TO CARRY FINISHED PRODUCTS
By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
Minister of Energy Peter Kapala has disclosed that the conversion process began on January 24th, 2023, and the cleaning of the pipeline and storage tanks has already been undertaken.
The conversion process is expected to be completed within the first quarter of 2023, and the pipeline will be able to pump 90 million litres of diesel per month.
He says this is a reliable supply of diesel will result in a reduction in transportation costs of up to 60%, ultimately leading to a reduction in the pump price of diesel.
TAZAMA has a constant dead stock of 90million comingled crude oil that lie in the pipeline. This is to enable the crude oil to be pumped from Da-es-Salaam into the 1,710 kilometres pipeline to be available at INDENI Refinery in Ndola almost instaneously.
A local company, Agro Fuel Investments Limited was awarded to supply and deliver 100,000 metric tonnes of low sulpher gas oil (LSG) and 15,000 metric tonnes of kerosene for the pipeline conversion project.
The idea was to push-out the crude oil deadstock, allow INDENI to process it, empty the pipeline and prepare the pipeline, clean it with kerosene for conversion to carry finished products.
A tender under Open National Bidding was floated at which Agro Fuel Investments, a wholly owned Zambian company won the tender.
The contract sum is worth K374,244,500.00 ( $51million).
The crude oil deadstock in the pipeline will fund the supply of 15,000 metric tonne of kerosenebto clean the pipeline after the crude has been pumped in storage facilities.
Further, the supply and delivery of 100,000 diesel will be done as the first consignment of finished product.
We should remember that TAZAMA was initially designed to deliver finished product before INDENI Refinery was ready.
Lets see how this project will run after the risks we had highlighted at the beginning will be mitigated
