Tanzania: TPDC to Enter Fuel Retail Market
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Tuesday, 01 December 2009 |
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Four years since it received parliamentary approval and in a bid to
guard against price distortion of the strategic fossil fuels, Tanzania
Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) has decided to engage in
marketing of petroleum products to stabilize prices and provide
competition to the private sector.
State-owned oil company, TPDC, said it had identified an
investment/development opportunity for importation and distribution of
petroleum products in and outside Tanzania through its subsidiary
'Commercial Petroleum Company of Tanzania Limited' (COPEC).
The Tanzanian Government had deemed it important to have a hand in the
marketing of petroleum products because of their strategic value in
order to guard against strangulation by foreign firms, which form
larger portion of the cartel in the country's petroleum product market.
To maximize the potentials of its downstream sector, TPDC is in search
of a public private partnership with a firm or consortia to explore and
exploit the oil marketing trade together. Applicants have been
given until December 10th, 2009 has been set as the deadline for the
submission of application for partnering.
Oil prices in Tanzania have, thus, been controlled since early last
year. It can be observed that service stations in the town had
different prices and that is because the government sets the maximum
prices; but each station is free to set its own as long as the maximum
prices set by the regulator were not exceeded.
PetrolWorld 291109
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