Mozambique: Government revokes Beira-Zimbabwe oil pipeline operator concession – decree published

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Mozambique: Government revokes Beira-Zimbabwe oil pipeline operator concession – decree published

10:54 CAT | 09 Nov 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

The Mozambican government has formalised the revocation of the concession to operate the oil pipeline between Beira and Zimbabwe awarded in 1984 to the Companhia do Pipeline Moçambique Zimbabwe (CPMZ) , according to a decree to which Lusa had access on Thursday.

According to the content of the decree, approved by the Cabinet and published on 1 November, the ministers who oversee the areas of finance, mineral resources and transport must now approve “the mechanisms to ensure the continuity of the exploration activity of the Beira – Zimbabwe Pipeline”.

“Without prejudice to the powers of other bodies, the rights acquired under the concession contract and other contractual instruments, the current corporate structure of CPMZ, as well as the investments made, shall be safeguarded,” reads the decree.

It adds, without giving any further details about the decision, that it is “necessary to adapt the Beira – Zimbabwe Pipeline project to the current legal framework”, which is why the concession to CPMZ for its operation is “revoked”, “as well as the benefits granted” since 1984.

“The revocation of the concession does not determine any change in the ownership of the pipeline infrastructure and additional facilities, which are part of CPMZ’s assets,” it also states.

In addition to the pipeline, which is 294 kilometres long and ten inches in diameter, CPMZ’s assets include two pumping stations – one in Beira city and the other in Maforga, in Manica province, and administrative facilities in Beira and in Maputo, as well as a receiving terminal at Feruka, Zimbabwe.

READ: Just In: Government revokes CPMZ’s concession for the Mozambique -Zimbabwe pipeline – Watch

Mozambique: Beira-Zimbabwe pipeline to be managed under new models – Notícias

CPMZ was set up in the second half of the 1950s – then called Companhia do Pipeline Moçambique-Rodésia.- with the aim of developing a large-scale infrastructure from the port of Beira, capable of meeting the fuel needs of three countries in the hinterland, namely Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia, which at the time formed the Central African Federation.

This concept included the construction of an oil refinery in Feruka, Zimbabwe, and an oil pipeline to supply crude oil from Beira, Mozambique.

Construction of the pipeline and refinery was completed in December 1964. The pipeline began operating in January 1965, transporting crude oil from the port of Beira to the Feruka refinery, with an initial capacity of one million tonnes/year of crude oil.

However, ten months later, the operation was suspended due to the sanctions applied following the unilateral proclamation of independence by the then Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, on 11 November 1965.

This halt in fuel transport lasted for 17 years.

Source: Lusa