The Sunday Mail
GOVERNMENT has put in motion two more upgrade phases for the Harare-Feruka pipeline, to enable it to pump up to 16 million litres of fuel per month, but only when demand rises from the current four million litres a day.
The 208km long Harare-Feruka pipeline is owned and operated by Petrozim Line (Pvt) Limited. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development Mr Partson Mbiriri said this in Harare on August 9, 2017 during the ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:2007 certification of Petrozim Line.
The original design of the 10 inch steel pipeline was to pump four million litres of fuel per day or 120 million litres permonth. The last upgrade of the pipeline was done three years ago when a drag reducing agent, which allows for quicker movement of fuel, was introduced.
This allowed the pipeline to pump a maximum of six million litres per day, which is 180 million litres a month.Mr Mbiriri said the next upgrading phase would see the installation of a booster pump at Wilton Farm in Makoni District.
Two similar pumps would be installed by Companhia Do Pipeline Mozambique (CPMZ) in Mozambique. “This will then improve the pipeline’s capacity from six million to 7,5 million litres per month.
“The third and the last phase will entail changing the pumping series from Beira through to Harare in favour of bigger pumps. This should result in capacity being further improved from 7,5 million per day to 16 million litres per day – which will be 480 million litres per month.
“When the various phases will be undertaken, shall depend on the economy’s effective demand for fuel. It is also important to note that it is along this upward trajectory that a second pipeline shall be needed,” said Mr Mbiriri.
He said attempting to build a second pipeline at the moment would turn it into a white elephant, staking a case for the need to sweat the existing pipeline “and get our timing for the second pipeline right”.
Petrozim Line was established in 1988 as a joint venture company between Lonrho Plc and the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NocZim), with each having 50 percent shareholding.
When the restructuring of NocZim into two entities in 2011, namely National Oil Infrastructure of Zimbabwe (Noic) and Petrotrade (Private) Limited, the 50 percent NocZim shareholding in Petrozim Line was allocated to Noic, which was mandated with managing national oil infrastruc ture.
Petrozim Line is owned by NOIC and Lonmin, 50 percent each. Lonmin Plc assumed the Lonrho shareholding.
