PETROCHINA INTERNATIONAL

“It’s our role to identity and plan for this based on the number of vehicles, infrastructural projects, flights destined to Addis Ababa and other fuel consuming activities,” the Chief Executive adds.

Going for growth

Having initially been established in 1967 as Ethiopian Petroleum Association Company, the organisation that has been know as EPSE since 2012 has rarely deviated from its overriding mission.

Commissioned to supply sustainable refined petroleum products including gasoil, gasoline, kerosene, light fuel oil and heavy fuel oil to the country, it has done just this for the past 52 years, procuring products via a series of open international tenders.

The majority of these are acquired via Djibouti, owed to both the strong trade links, connections and relations between the two countries, as well as the profound importance of

Port Djibouti with Ethiopia being a landlocked nation.

Some gasoil and gasoline products are also purchased from Kuwait Petroleum Cooperation and Sudan Petroleum Corporation respectively, while aviation fuel is often purchased from the former.

“Products are imported through key entry points and ports across Ethiopia,” Hailemariam explains.

“We then both distribute these to oil marketers according to their market shares and store them in 13 strategic depots that we administer throughout the nation.

“Business is always about teamwork. We have very good relationships with all our partners on the supply chain and we will keep on working closely with our customers and all stakeholders.”

This portfolio of depots and customers has continued to grow over

PetroChina International (PCI) is a listed arm of a state-owned corporation, CNPC, and actively participates in global crude and refined products, trading for years through its overseas operations and value-added chain.

At the moment PCI operates four overseas refineries in Europe, Singapore and the Far East, besides 26 system refineries in China. PCI also owns and leases storage tanks in the Far East, Arab Gulf, Europe and America regions. To date, PCI’s biggest involvement in the African market has been supplying 50 percent of the Ethiopia’s refined petroleum products requirements in 2017 and 2019. PCI is directly and indirectly involved in other African countries including, but not limited to Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique Mauritius, South Africa and some West African countries.