Fuel Overview

The Zanzibar Utilities Regulatory Authority (ZURA) is responsible under the Energy and Water Utilities Act No. 7 of 2013 to oversee and regulate the Energy and Water sectors, ZURA has the duty to regulate these sectors both technically and economically. The sub-sectors regulated by the Authority include Oil, Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Electricity, and Water. The Authority is responsible for ensuring that the services provided are available at adequate standards, at fair prices, safely and reliably, and that service providers receive fair returns on their investments

In October 2021, the Authority on behalf of the Government implemented changes in the country's fuel importation system, transitioning from multiple importers to the establishment of a Bulk Procurement System (BPS). Currently, oil is imported into the country through the awarded company GBP TANZANIA LIMITED in Tanzania. The imported products include gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, and kerosene. The annual volume of oil imported into Zanzibar is approximately 180,000 metric tons with a variance of +/- 20%.

Currently Oil imported into Zanzibar is collected from the ports of Tanga and/or Dar es Salaam by GBP TANZANIA LIMITED. They then distribute the oil to Zanzibar's oil companies, which include GAPCO, PUMA, and Zanzibar Petroleum (ZP) located at Mtoni port Unguja, United Petroleum (UP) located at Mangapwani Port Unguja. These companies receive their oil from the supplier after submitting their required quantity orders for the respective timeframes.

The oil storage facility in Mtoni has a capacity to store up to 16,487,039 liters and 21,000,000 at Mangapwani depot liters of oil for all products, On the other hand, in Pemba, the Wesha depot in Pemba has a total capacity of 2,013,000 liters.  However, the average actual consumption of oil required is 15,000,000 liters per month. These requirements can increase to 17,000,000 liters per month during periods of higher demand.

For more information on government and fuel provider contact details, please see the following links: 4.1 Government Contact List and 4.7 Fuel Providers Contact List.

Information may also be found at: http://www.mytravelcost.com/petrol-prices/ which is updated monthly. 

Fuel Pricing

ZURA has developed Petroleum Products Price Setting Rules which provide a pricing formula for computing the petroleum products' prices. The formula is composed by:

FOB price – It is computed based on the weighted average FOB price of vessels that discharged fuel in a given month. The weighted average FOB price of each product is computed separately. The price of the products for each cargo is based on the monthly average price of the products as published by Platts. Premiums are determined based on the results of supply tenders floated every month. Local charges are fixed in the formula based on various legal provisions that impose a charge in importation or in doing business in the petroleum sub-sector. They also include some variable business costs that have been identified and approved by EWURA as prudent costs. Margins to wholesalers and retailers to cover operations cost and a return on investment.

N.B*The price cap for petroleum product is announced on 8th every month and implemented on 9th.

Seasonal Variations 

Fuel Transportation

Fuel is transported within the country using fuel trucks. Transportation is arranged between the owner of the trucks and a petrol station requiring the fuel or the Oil Marketing Company (OMC). For large customers who buy fuel directly from the OMC, the OMC arranges to deliver the products to the client accordingly to the agreement between the two parties.

Standards, Quality and Testing

At 15 degrees centigrade, the petrol must have a density between 720-780 Kg/m3, a minimal motor octane number of 83, and maximum sulphur content of 0.015%.

At 15 degrees centigrade, diesel must have a density between 820-870 Kg/m3, a minimum cetane index of 48, and a maximum sulphur content of 0.05%.

At 15 degrees centigrade, kerosene must have a density between 776-840 Kg/m3 and a maximum of sulphur content of 0.15%.

The quality of fuel is checked by Zanzibar Bureau of standards (ZBS) on arrival of a fuel vessel at the port. In addition, ZURA carries out regular checks of fuel quality at the depots and petrol stations.

Disclaimer: Inclusion of company information in the LCA does not imply any business relationship between the supplier and WFP / Logistics Cluster, and is used solely as a determinant of services, and capacities.

Please note: WFP / Logistics Cluster maintain complete impartiality and are not in a position to endorse, comment on any company's suitability as a reputable service provider.