Tinashe Makichi
HARARE – The National Oil Infrastructure Company (NOIC) said the country is going to save about $64 million through blending petrol at a 20 percent ratio.
Zimbabwe has not been able to meet the 20 percent blending ratio due to production challenges at Green Fuel but Government has since gazetted that the ratio would now be used as production at the sole supplier have improved. Previously, the gazetted blending ratio was at 5 percent.
“Given that ethanol production is seasonal, there has been seasonal variation of the ethanol blending levels resulting in the reduction in the blending ratios during the seasons.
“Ethanol blending is not only a renewable source of energy but also provides saving in foreign currency by substituting importation of petrol. At 20 percent blending, the annual saving on the import bill is $64 million,” said NOIC.
NOIC has set up Fuel Ethanol Company of Zimbabwe (Private) Limited (FECZ) which is a joint venture between NOIC and Triangle Limited and this company is expected to bridge the Green Fuel supply gap.
“The formation of this company is both strategic and beneficial as it ensures that together with the other industry players, the gap in relation to ethanol production is filled,” said the oil company.
NOIC is also carrying out projects to increase ethanol storage capacity, Jet A1 storage facility and LPG storage facility with the anticipated cost for the projects amounting to $20 million.
The company has a storage capacity of over half a billion liters and in addition, its pumping capacity is 180 million liters a month which is currently adequate to meet the nation’s requirements.
