THE PATH FUEL TRAVELS BEFORE IT GETS INTO YOUR CAR

BEING a landlocked nation has its pros and cons. The cons are that every imported commodity comes at a cost, due to associated transport and logistics of importation.

Since independence and particularly in the recent past, there has been a rise in demand for petroleum products.

This is due to an increase in economic activities in the country with indicators such as increased mining, commercial and agricultural activities.

In addition, the vehicle population has also increased in the country. This article will therefore focus on petroleum products which are an important commodity that everybody uses, in one way or the other, and the long path they take from source to our fuel tank.

The long path that this commodity travels before it gets into a vehicle/ engine should be of interest to all of us.

The journey starts in the Arabian Gulf where a tanker which is a cargo ship that transports fuel is loaded.

The tanker takes about five days to be loaded with comingled feed stock which consist of crude oil, diesel and Naphta or condensate. After loading, the ship takes about 10 -14 days to sail to the port or Dar es Salaam.

Upon arrival at Dar-es-Salaam it is pumped from the vessel, which usually carries a cargo of 90, 000MT, through an undersea pipeline to the Tazama Tank Farm storage facility.

From this point the feedstock embarks on its journey through the pipeline (managed by Tazama Oil Pipeline) all the way to Ndola, over a distance of 1,710km. In order to ensure that the pipeline is well maintained and cleaned, as the crude moves along the pipeline, a device called a Pig is inserted into a launching station, which is an oversized section in the pipeline, and reducing to its normal diameter. The launching station is then closed and the pressuredriven flow of the product in the pipeline is used to push the pig along the pipe until it reaches the receiving trap — the "pig catcher" (or "receiving station"). This is done without stopping the flow of the product in the pipeline.

This in turn ensures the quality and quantity of the crude arrives in an acceptable condition as well as the general integrity of the feedstock is maintained. This exercise does not stop the flow of the crude oil from moving forward along the pipeline.

A cleaning pig for a 6-inch oil pipeline. The wire brush encircles the shaft and scours the interior of the pipeline.

The comingled feed stock is boosted on the journey by seven pump stations, five of which are on the Tanzanian side, while two are in Zambia.

There are more pump stations on the Tanzanian side due to the hilly terrain in that country compared to the relatively flat terrain on the Zambian side. Tazama Oil Pipeline is jointly owned by the Governments of Tanzania with 33% share while Zambia holds the larger share of 67%.

When the comingled feed stock reaches the Indeni Oil Refinery, it undergoes Petroleum refining processes which are chemical engineering processes that transform comingled feedstocks into useful products such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), petrol, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel oil and fuel oils.

The products except for LPG and fuel oils are then pumped over to the Ndola Fuel Terminal which is a storage facility next to Indeni Petroleum Refinery.

These products are then sold in their finished and refined state to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) licenced by the Energy Regulation Board.

OMCs in turn use licenced transporters to transport the products to the consumer. Petroleum products such as petrol, paraffin and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) are transported under strict licence conditions to ensure that high quality products are deposited at filling stations.

The Zambian Government procures and receives almost 800, 000 metric tonnes of Petroleum feedstock through the Tazama Oil Pipeline annually.

The average cargo is about 90, 000 MT and is usually consumed between 45 to 60 days.

Once all costs relating to procurement, refinery and transportation of petroleum products are determined, the cost of fuel is set by following the Uniform Petroleum Pricing (UPP) method that ensures that the cost of the fuel at filling stations is uniform across Zambia.

This has greatly brought price stability in the industry and settled the minds of consumers in that what one will pay in Mongu for fuel is the same amount they would pay to buy fuel in Lusaka.

The fuel from Indeni accounts for about 50 percent of the fuel consumed in Zambia.

The other 50 percent is met through importation of finished petroleum products by road tankers from South Africa, the port of Beira in Mozambique and port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

A small part of the fuel may be transported by rail from South Africa. Imported refined products are off loaded at Government storage Depots which include the Ndola Fuel Terminal, Solwezi Depot, Mpika Depot, Lusaka Depot and Mongu Depot prior to despatch to filling stations. The Energy Regulation Board ensures that the quality of the fuel is maintained as per Zambian Standard from the time it leaves the Refinery or is off loaded from a tanker to the point it is discharged into a consumer’s vehicle.

The ERB therefore ensures that the Zambian Standards on quality of fuel are adhered to by the Refinery, storage depots, transporters, OMCs and filling stations.

Scheduled and random inspections and audits are therefore carried out to ensure that the highest standards are adhered to. Consumers are therefore urged to ensure that they procure their fuel from licenced facilities and not illegal vendors who cannot assure the public of quality products.