adminMartin Kadzere Senior Business Reporter
PLANS are underway to increase the capacity of Feruka oil pipeline linking Beira and Harare as the country gears towards becoming a regional fuel hub. The upgrade would involve installation of additional booster pumps which would result in the flow of fuel increasing to 225 million litres from the current 180 million litres per month, Energy and Power Development Minister Dr Samuel Undenge said this week.
About 95 percent of fuel imported into the country comes through the Feruka pipeline.
“In 2013, and upon the ministry’s request, pipeline owners introduced the use of the drag reducing agent which is injected into the pipeline to reduce friction upon pumping, hence increased throughput,” said Minister Undenge. “Because of the DRA, the pipeline can now pump a maximum of 180 litres per month up from 120 million litres.”
The Government owns 21 kilometres of the Feruka line while Mozambique’s Companhiado Pipeline Mozambique-Zimbabwe company controls the remaining section.
Last year, the pipeline pumped 1,36 billion litres. Zimbabwe uses 115 million litres per month.
On daily basis, the country consumes 1,5 million litres of petrol and 2,5 million litres of diesel.
While the planned upgrade would result in the pumping capacity increasing to 225 million litres per month, there are also plans to further boost capacity to 500 million litres. This would involve replacing the existing pumps with bigger ones. The timing would, however, be subject to demand for increased pumping, Dr Undenge said.
He added enhancing the Feruka pipeline capacity was in line with the Government’s vision to make Zimbabwe a hub of fuel trade and transportation in the region, given its central location and huge storage capacity. The National Oil and Infrastructure Company of Zimbabwe, a Government- owned firm has storage capacity of 500 million litres.
The current capacity is more than adequate for present local and regional requirements.
“Some countries in the region which include Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana and Malawi pick some of their fuel from Zimbabwe but volumes are still low, reaching 10 million litres per month at best,” said Minister Undenge.
“This suggests that we should do more to capture a material share in the market.” Recently, NOIC acquired a fuel depot in Bulawayo for $3,6 million to facilitate fuel blending distribution in the southern parts of the country as well as Botswana. The depot has been refurbished and is now ready for commissioning, the minister said.
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