The coming into use of the “Single Point Mooring” (SPM) for discharging fuel from ships has greatly enhanced efficiency at Dar es Salaam port, the Petroleum Importation Coordinator Ltd (PIC) General Manager Michael Mjinja said yesterday.
Briefing journalists on the status of the bulk oil procurement system, he said that the application of the new system in discharging fuel has helped to a great extent to reduce congestion at the port.
Before introduction of the system, between 7 and eight vessels were needed to deliver the monthly diesel supply, but under the new system which can handle bigger vessels, the number of tankers has been cut to only two and at most three, he said.
Mjinja said that a vessel carrying between 95,000 and 100,000 metric tonnes of the fuel takes four to five days to discharge through the SPM.
Commenting on tendering by the oil marketing companies he said competition was stiff, although there was no big difference in the transportation cost (premium).
He said PIC normally used the system of pre-qualification, and that this year 30 oil marketing companies have been pre qualified for importing petroleum products.
He said six companies have been participating in the tenders and that only Gapco Tanzania Limited was local.
The GM attributed the poor participation of local companies to lack of understanding of the new system of bulk procurement and financial capability.
He said for a company to import 350,000 metric tonnes of petroleum products, it needed to have USD 500 million.
“The foreign companies are used to this system; it is new to our local companies, but also needs huge capital outlay,’ he said.
He said that Augusta Energy SA and Gapco Tanzania Limited have been winning the tenders of importing fuel because they quoted low transport costs.
He said since January the premium cost has been decreasing from 71 USD per metric tonne and will in September be 37 USD per metric tonne.
This has had impact on demurrage costs which dropped from 10.44 USD per metric tonne in tender number 7 to 2.07 USD per metric tonne in tender number 10.
The drop however has not had a significant impact on pump prices because these were determined by the world oil market prices.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
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