Page 13 - DMEA Week 12 2020

DMEA FUEL DMEA
Tanzanian energy minister says fuel reserves are adequate
TANZANIA
Tanzania’s Energy Minister Medard Kalemani said last week that the country’s fuel inventories were capable of covering domestic demand for at least two months.
TANZANIA’S Energy Minister Medard Kale- mani said last week that the country’s fuel inventories were capable of covering domestic demand for at least two months.
Speaking during a meeting with petroleum product sellers in Dodoma, Kalemani said he did not expect the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak to affect supply condi- tions. “The ministry is continuing to co-ordinate the availability of fuel even if the deadly disease persists ... [We] will continue having fuel for air- crafts [and] motor vehicles as well as fuel for all economic activities, including implementation of various strategic projects,” he was quoted as saying by Tanzania Daily News.
He went on to say that the country had ample inventories of motor fuel and would continue receiving additional supplies in the near term. “AsIspeak,wehave235mnlitresofdiesel,which can serve the country for the coming 46 days, [and] an excess of 116mn litres of petrol, which can serve the country for 48 days, and we are still receiving more fuel in all the three ports of Dar es
Salaam, Tanga and Mtwara,” he declared. Supplies of kerosene and jet fuel are also adequate, the minister asserted. Tanzania’s inventories hold 5.5mn litres of kerosene, as well as more than 20mn litres of jet fuel, enough to cover consumption at current levels for 58 days, he said. Additional jet fuel cargoes are due to arrive in Tanzanian ports later in the
week, he stated.
Tanzania has also drawn up contingency
plans for ensuring the delivery of petroleum products, he added. If the country’s usual suppli- ers, such as India and the United Arab Emirates, have to suspend shipments, the government will turn to other sellers so that it can maintain stock levels, he explained.
Additionally, he said, Dar es Salaam has set up a special task force to assess fuel supply con- ditions throughout the country. Members of this team will monitor existing fuel reserves and keep track of all other fuel storage facilities with the aim of determining whether inventories can be beefed up even further, he stated. ™
Uganda tasks state firm with bulk fuel sales to local retailers
UGANDA
Uganda’s government has officially tasked a state-owned business, Uganda National Oil Co. (UNOC), with selling bulk quantities of imported petroleum products to local retailers.
UGANDA’S government has officially tasked a state-owned business, Uganda National Oil Co. (UNOC), with selling bulk quantities of imported petroleum products to local retailers.
UNOC took up its duties last month, saying in a statement that it had begun bulk trading of petroleum products on the domestic fuel mar- ket. It explained: “Simply put, the company going forward will import and sell petroleum products in bulk to registered local oil marketing compa- nies (OMCs); hence the term bulk trading.”
According to the statement, the Ugandan government has assigned this task to UNOC in order to “strategically position” the company as the main link in the local supply chain for refined fuels. “The move will enhance the security of petroleum product supplies into Uganda, while delivering sustainable value propositions to the OMCs, subsequently benefiting all Ugandans,” it asserted.
Proscovia Nabbanja, the CEO of UNOC, said that fuel imports were in line with the company’s mandate for upholding the interests of the state
across the value chain of the petroleum indus- try. This includes the downstream sector, where UNOC operates petroleum product storage facilities and distribution pipelines, in additional to selling bulk quantities of fuel, she said.
UNOC has marked the assumption of its new responsibilities by drawing up its first preliminary supply deal with STABEX, a local OMC. The two sides signed a memoran- dum of understanding (MoU) last week, in a ceremony witnessed by Tanzania’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Mary Goretti Titutu.
Daniel Cherutich, the general manager of STABEX, was also present at the signing cere- mony. He said that his company was pleased to be UNOC’s first customer for bulk fuel sales.
In the statement, UNOC said it would make the first delivery of fuel to STABEX before the end of March. It did not disclose the details of the deal, but it did say it would be covering “a frac- tion of [the OMC’s] monthly fuel requirements, as per the agreed terms and conditions.”™
Week 12 26•March•2020 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P13