Planned Upgrades to the TAZAMA Pipeline

The TAZAMA oil pipeline between Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Ndola in Zambia was completed in late 1968 making use of over 45 000 tons of steel in its construction. The pipeline is approximately 1700 kilometers long (making it one of the longest in the world) and over the years has become a crucial lifeline to both the Zambian and Tanzanian economies.

Interestingly the pipeline still has two sections of different pipe diameters – roughly 900 kms of 8-inch diameter pipe and 800 kms of 12-inch diameter pipe. Currently the pipeline delivers approximately 800 000 tonnes of oil from Tanzania to Zambia annually.

TAZAMA is an acronym of the name Tanzania Zambia Mafuta, as it was planned at the time that the pipeline would help boost economic activity in the region, which it has undoubtedly done.

Earlier this month, Tazama Pipelines Limited held an event in Dar es Salaam to pay an annual dividend of Sh4.35 billion to representatives of the Tanzanian government. Speaking at the event, the firm’s managing director Mr David Thawethe gave an update on the latest developments for the ageing pipeline.

According to Thawethe, plans are now afoot to significantly upgrade TAZAMA, which has faithfully served the Zambian public for nearly 58 years. A top European oil and gas consulting firm called Norplan has been commissioned to conduct a long-term feasibility study with the aim of significantly increasing the carrying capacity of the pipeline in order to meet current and projected energy demand.

Phase one of the project will be to upgrade the entire length of the pipeline to 12-inch diameter pipe which will provide a significant short-term lift in terms of annual deliverable oil volume. Phase two of the project will be to assess the feasibility and cost of building a second parallel pipeline using 24-inch diameter pipe for the entire 1700 km length, to run in conjunction with the original pipeline. This will increase TAZAMA’s annual carrying capacity from 800 000 tonnes to 5 million tonnes by adding a 24-inch diameter pipe for the entire 1700 kilometer length of the pipeline.

The Ministries of Energy of both countries are already in talks regarding both the funding and their specific requirements of this bold new venture. Included in these talks are more planned off ramps along the length of the pipeline to lessen the need for far more costly local road transport. The ultimate aim is to increase energy availability and decrease the commensurate cost, which will be of significant benefit to both Zambia and Tanzania and to the SADC region as a whole.