Zambia seeks new long-term oil supplier

LUSAKA – Zambia has invited bids for the supply of 1,4 million tonnes of crude oil over a two-year period ahead of the expiry next month of a deal with Kuwait’s International Petroleum Group (IPG), the procurement authority said yesterday.

The southern African country is the continent’s top producer of copper and uses a lot of diesel in the mining operations that are the backbone of its economy.Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) spokeswoman, Hazel Zulu, said the last date to receive sealed bids will be December 18 when bids will also be opened.The winner should supply the first cargo by January 1 2010 through the port of Dar-es-Saalam in Tanzania, she said.’The 1 440 000 tonnes buyer’s option will be brought in cargo lots of 60 000 to 90 000 tonnes at evenly spread intervals,’ Zulu told Reuters.Zulu said the successful bidder would be required to provide a performance security of US$10 million through a suitable guarantee from a first class bank acceptable to the client.Zulu said IPG and Kenya’s Dalbit Petroleum had submitted separate bids for the supply of 90 million litres of diesel and 30 million litres of petrol for six months to Zambia.’IPG indicated a bid sum of US$50,3 million and Dalbit put it at US$53,6 million and both companies have given a delivery period of six months,’ Zulu said.She said that tender closed last Friday and the procurement authority had submitted the bids to the ministry of energy for technical evaluation.Zambia last month hired IPG and Dalbit to import a total of 50 million litres of diesel and 30 million litres of petrol to avert a fuel crisis after it shut down its sole Indeni oil refinery for maintenance.Zambia has also asked oil marketing companies (OMCs) to import at least 50 million litres of diesel and 30 million litres of petrol. -Nampa-Reuters