Policy Analyst Kelvin Chibomba is urging the government to consider recapitalizing Indeni Petroleum Refinery as it still has the potential to mitigate any possible shocks in the price of fuel on the international market.
Mr Chibomba argues that against the government’s earlier decision to place Indeni Refinery on care and maintenance while working towards turning it into an oil marketing company, it will be prudent to revert to the firm’s earlier core operations because of its value chains.
He tells Phoenix News that another option is for government to find an equity partner to acquire the minority shares as it is the alternative financing option to enable Indeni to produce petroleum products beyond 100 per cent.
Further, Mr Chibomba is of the view that allowing the private sector to wholly supply fuel to the government will continue to cause discrepancies in pricing as the private sector is only interested in profits.
The government last year placed Indeni Petroleum Refinery on care and maintenance as part of reforms aimed at promoting efficiency and stability in the petroleum subsector.
I thought we have already past that stage Mr Chibomba. Your friends are already talking about building a new Refinery which will process original crude oil from Angola and many other places but you’re still on Indeni?! Processing Crude at INDENI will never make fuel cheap, ask MMD & PF they will tell you. Lets move forward bane. INDENI use to keep crude oil stocks up to 3 or 4 months. Govt has built provincial storage tanks to keep finished products for a similar period of time to hedge against fuel prices. Why do you then need INDENI?
Indeni was giving us raw materials to add value by producing petroleum products with bitumen at the bottom of the food chain.
The new pipeline from Angola to Lusaka won’t be ready until after 3 – 5 years. Can the GRZ state the fate of Indeni so that we stop discussing its existence as we see it join the likes of Kapiri Glass Products, Njanji Commuters and Mulungushi Textiles.
But INDENI has not been in production the past two years. While the GOVT is still struggling with the repayment of the old crude oil debt you’re advising them to contract more? With or without the equity partner we have been informed that Indeni is technologically behind and it cannot process low sulphur diesel in order to meet international regulation. Please know that there more issues to Indeni than you think. Don’t think GOVT has not consulted.
This is 1970s plumbing………
Time has moved on……….
This one also , was he living England and then he moved to London after which he migrated to Great Britain? Indeni in Zambia is a dead horse tate. Cannot run or race let alone stand on its own two feet. That a PF cow and PF sucked it to the end including plucking its horns. All that is left there now is jst a Skeleton of the original Indeni from the KK days.
alsp Some of you Technocrats, pls save yourself from embarrasment, before you comment, let at the structure of the New Dawn Admin first. Things like Mining,Energy, Transport, Technology, Green Economy. Business ministries they ve the best team in the world(mu Africa baliye size). And Finance – dont even show up yo dirty nose their,you ll come back peeing in your pants. All staff their is now World Bank & IMF ex employees,You ll never mess with!