Tanzania Pipeline Rupture Spills More Than 6,200 Barrels of Fuel

The Tazama pipeline in southern Africa spilled more than 6,200 barrels of fuel after a rupture, according to the operator.

(Bloomberg) — The Tazama pipeline in southern Africa spilled more than 6,200 barrels of fuel after a rupture, according to the operator.

The 1,060-mile line between Tanzania and Zambia was damaged by a road contractor on May 15, leaking low-sulfur gasoil before the leak was stopped, Tazama Pipelines said late Tuesday in a statement. The incident occurred in the Mbeya region in western Tanzania.

Operations will resume in about two days after repairs and an environmental cleanup, according to Tazama, which is 67% owned by Zambia and Tanzania holding the balance.

There is adequate diesel stock for 15 days and supplies will not be disrupted, Zambia’s Energy Minister Peter Kapala said Wednesday in a statement.

Zambia uses the pipeline to import diesel to Ndola in its landlocked Copperbelt province, from the Dar es Salaam port. Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema’s government in 2021 shut the country’s sole oil refinery that the pipeline supplied with oil and it was converted to transport diesel in a bid to reduce prices.

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