Page 6 - AfrOil Week 22 2022

AfrOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT AfrOil

Zimbabwe’s PZL, Mozambican partner to

spend $20mn on fuel pipeline expansion

ZIMBABWE/MOZAMBIQUE PETROZIM Line Ltd (PZL) and its partner PZL’s executive director Peter Masvikeni said
Companhia do Pipeline Moçambique-Zim- the project had passed the design phase and that
babwe (CPMZ) plan to upgrade the pumping construction was expected to begin in the third
capacity of a pipeline that moves refined petro- quarter of 2022.
leum products from Mozambique to Zimbabwe, “With respect to the progress on the capacity
according to a report from The Herald . upgrade, so far we have completed the detailed
The $20mn investment will bring the pipe’s designs of the upgrade project for both the first
capacity to 3bn litres per year, up from 2.19bn, and the second phase,” he said, according to The
the state-owned newspaper said on June 1. Herald. “We have now gone into the phase of
About 90% of the diesel and petrol used in Zim- procurement, where to date we have contracted
babwe enters the country via the 287-km link. six vendors for the supply of critical equipment,
Speaking at the company’s board meeting on which will start arriving during the third and
May 30, PZL’s board chairman Daniel Macken- fourth quarter of this year, and we then expect
zie Ncube said the expansion project was part of construction works to commence in the third
a broader plan by the company to make Harare, quarter.” ™
the capital, a regional hub for fuel distribution.
Ncube also said that the pipe’s pumping capac-
ity would be further expanded to 5bn litres per
annum by 2025.
“The utilisation of future capacity will result
in the generation of additional foreign currency
revenue for the business and the nation at large,
as well as preservation of the road infrastructure
through reduced volumes of fuel tanker traffic,”
he said.
In 2021, PZL pumped 1.19bn litres of fuel
into Zimbabwe, up from 1.22bn litres in 2020.
This is equivalent to 6mn litres per day. After
the upgrade, the pipeline’s capacity would rise
to 8.2mn litres per day. The fuel pipeline originates in the Mozambican seaport of Beira (Photo: CPMZ)

INVESTMENT
Eni confirms withdrawal from South Africa

SOUTH AFRICA ITALY’S Eni has effectively confirmed its with- effectively confirmed Upstream’s report, as it
drawal from South Africa, where it had been stated that the exit had already occurred.
gearing up to look for oil and gas off the coast of “In February 2022, Eni has completed the
KwaZulu-Natal State. transfer of its entire participating interest in the
The company has been working with Sasol, a Exploration Right permit 236 (ER236) to its
South African company, to explore an offshore partner Sasol Ltd and is exiting the upstream
block known as Exploration Right 236 (ER 236) business in South Africa,” it said. “Eni acquired
since 2014. However, Upstream Online said on the exploration rights in November 2013 and
May 31 that the Italian major had withdrawn in December 2014 became the operator of the
from the project. The latest information availa- block, located offshore KwaZulu-Natal. During
ble from the Petroleum Agency of South Africa the relevant exploration periods, Eni fulfilled
(PASA), the country’s upstream hydrocarbon its obligations by complying with all the work
regulator, indicates that Sasol is the only remain- commitments.”
ing investor in the project, it explained. Bloomberg had said last October that the
As of press time, Eni had not commented Italian company had decided to quit the explo-
publicly on the matter. However, its website ration project.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 22 01•June•2022