TANGA: REGULATIONS requiring fuel dealers in the northern zone regions to purchase petroleum products from the Gulf Bulk Petroleum (GBP) Depot in Tanga City have been signed and will come into effect next month.
This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Dr Doto Biteko, while speaking to journalists after visiting the East African Oil Company Project (EACOP), a flow meter owned by the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), and later the GBP oil storage facility.
Dr Biteko explained that the regulations were revised last month and that all oil dealers in the northern regions should stop driving to Dar es Salaam to purchase fuel because it causes the prices of the products to increase over time.
He stated that the government intends to ensure that fuel dealers in the southern region get the commodity from Mtwara, while those in the north and neighbouring Kenya get it from Tanga.
Dr Biteko urged government institutions, including TPA, EWURA, the Oil Import Agency, and the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS), to expedite the implementation of the order so that oil unloading procedures at Tanga can begin immediately.
He further explained that Tanga Port’s activities are expected to be enhanced following the government’s signing of a regulation directing fuel dealers in the northern region to buy the product from Tanga.
According to Dr Biteko, the government intends to implement the regulation by February. He emphasised that the government values the GBP company’s investment and is willing to increase it while ensuring that no losses occur.
The Director of the Gulf Bulk Petroleum Company (GBP), Baadar Seif Masoud, stated that the company began operations in 2001 and is now capable of serving 12 trucks at once for 30 minutes and 20 rail wagons for 45 minutes.
He said that the company, which can store 203 million litres of fuel, is planning to expand its activities by building a loading and unloading point in the sea at a 20-meter depth to be able to receive large ships weighing 100,000 tonnes.
Mr Masoud also stated that GBP intends to build a lubricant production plant, a gas plant, and facilities for receiving bitumen from ships.
He emphasised the importance of having large oil reserves, stating that a strong economy requires them.
At the same time, Tanga Port Manager Masoud Mrisha said that since the closure of the port’s flow meter in 2020, the government has been able to control the fuel losses that were previously highly recorded.
