Tinashe Makichi
The National Oil Infrastructure Company of Zimbabwe (NOIC) said it is carrying out projects to increase ethanol, Jet A1, and LPG storage capacity, with the anticipated cost for the projects amounting to $20 million.
The state-owned oil infrastructure company has a storage capacity of over half a billion litres with its pumping capacity sitting at 180 million litres a month, which at present is not enough to meet the nation’s requirements.
“The upgrade of the facilities will be done as and when need arises. The Company is currently carrying out projects to increase ethanol storage capacity, the Jet A1 storage facility and the LPG storage facility. The anticipated costs for the project amount to $20 million,” said NOIC public relations manager Loku Tshaka.
She said NOIC has several aspects of its operations that require Treasury support and the company is grateful for the support being rendered by Government so far.
“NOIC has been able to generate adequate finances for the business through its operations.”
NOIC’s outlook is centered on increased capacity utilization in lieu of Government’s interventions to revive the economy which continue to bear fruit.
In order to augment these efforts the company will pursue the expansion of its market by making Zimbabwe the regional hub for the distribution of petroleum products.
Tshaka last year said the Beira pipeline is in a serviceable condition not requiring rehabilitation at the present moment and has sufficient capacity to meet current demand.
In order to ensure security of fuel supply, in addition to servicing regional markets, the company increased the capacity of the pipeline through the introduction of a drag reducing agent in 2013, which increased the flow rate from 120 million litres per month to 180 million litres per month.
The long term plan for NOIC however is to continue operating profitably while giving an efficient service to the industry.
In this regard, the company will respond to future demand by installing additional capacity as necessitated by growth in demand for its services.
