Government mulls BP interests in Tanzania

Prodigal Son · 2010-03-23T07:36:40+00:00

Government mulls BP interests in Tanzania By DAILY NEWS Reporter, 22nd March 2010 @ 16:00, Total Comments: 0, Hits: 243 THE government plans to team up with Zambia and Malawi to acquire British Petroleum (BP) interests in Tanzania after the oil giants announcement to close shop in the country. Impeccable sources told the 'Daily News' yesterday that the three countries see BP as a strategic investment to ensure a good stock of the commodity. It has also been reported that the plan aims to consolidate Tanzanias plans for bulk procurement system as a long term measure to stabilise the soaring oil prices from the private companies. The Tanzanian government and BP own 50 shares each in the company. According to the sources, the partnership is viewed as the strategy for landlocked partners of Zambia and Malawi to attain a reliable supply of petroleum products. Efforts to get comments on the issue from the Minister for Energy and Minerals, Mr William Ngeleja and his deputy Adam Malima failed yesterday. The Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Mr Mustafa Mkullo, also declined to comment, saying he would issue a statement later. I am currently in my constituency in Kilosa, so I can not comment on the issue until I drive back to my office in Dar es Salaam, he said over the phone yesterday. A number of local and multi-national companies are reported to have expressed interest to buy the shares. Kenya's Kenol Kobil said last week that it was interested in taking up BP shares and that such assets would offer opportunities for the group to grow. The company has marketing operations in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Early this month, BP Africas chief executive, Mr Sipho Maseko, announced that BP was quitting Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana following a strategy review that would see it throwing all its weight in a handful of African countries mainly Angola, Mozambique and South Africa and in Algeria, Egypt and Libya. Reports obtained by this paper indicate that different parties including domestic and international oil marketing companies have expressed interests to buy BP assets in Africa, including Tanzania. However, the Executive Director of the Tanzania Oil Marketing Association (TAOMAC), Mr Salum Bisarara, said yesterday that the Kenol Kobil announcement was a mere campaign. He said that the talks on the sale of BP shares could be determined on basis of negotiations between the shareholders. It is likely there are ten to 20 individual companies eyeing BP. They will announce in the media like what Kenol Kobil did because this is business, he said. BP Tanzania had a 35 per cent market share in both the retail and service stations and about 70 per cent in aviation. In Zanzibar it has been controlling the aviation fuel market by about 100 per cent. chanzo; daily news

Thread starter Prodigal Son
Start date Mar 23, 2010

Prodigal Son

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Government mulls BP interests in Tanzania

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