EWURA board inspects TAZAMA oil pipeline
DAR ES SALAAM: THE Chairman of the Board of the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA), Professor Mark Mwandosya, led board members and management in inspecting the TAZAMA Oil Pipeline, which runs from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Ndola, Zambia.
The visit aimed to assess operational challenges and identify solutions. Speaking during the visit, which began last Friday, the Chairman of EWURA’s Energy Committee, Ngosi Mwihava, said that the objective was to examine the pipeline’s operations, economic aspects and infrastructure.
“One of EWURA’s key responsibilities in the petroleum sector is regulating the infrastructure used for transporting oil and natural gas. This visit is specifically focused on inspecting the pipeline, identifying existing challenges and exploring ways to resolve them to enhance oil transportation services,” Mwihava said.
He added that the visit also provided an opportunity for EWURA and Zambia’s Energy Regulation Board (ERB) to exchange experiences in areas such as price-setting, strategic oil reserves management and capacity building for professionals.
The delegation visited several key locations, including the Chilolwa station for a pipeline security assessment, the Chinsali pumping station and the Mpika oil storage facility.
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Other sites included the Kilonje pumping station, the Mulilima station for pipeline cleaning operations and the Bwana Mkubwa terminal in Ndola, which receives oil deliveries.
The delegation also met with the management of the TAZAMA pipeline, the Board of Directors of Zambia’s Energy Regulation Board (ERB) and the National Water Supply and Sanitation Council (NWASCO) to discuss various cooperation matters in the sector.
Tanzania Zambia Mafuta (TAZAMA) Pipelines Limited was established in 1968 and owns and operates a finished petroleum product oil pipeline running from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to Ndola, Zambia. Initially, TAZAMA pipelines pumped crude oil, but the system has since been converted to transport finished products.
The pipeline spans a distance of 1,710 kilometres, consisting of 954 kilometres of 8-inch diametre pipeline and 798 kilometres of 12-inch diametre pipeline.
The pipeline has an installed transportation capacity of 1.1 million metric tonnes per annum and currently handles an annual throughput of 800,000 metric tonnes.
