5 firms shortlisted for majority stake in Zambia's sole oil refinery

LUSAKA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Five out of seven firms that submitted applications for pre-qualifications to buy a stake in Zambia's sole oil refinery have been short-listed for the next stage, a government agency that runs the firm said on Monday.

The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) said the five firms have been selected after serious scrutiny and will now be required to provide financial and technical proposals.

It added that the 24,000-barrels-per day refinery requires strong equity partner to upscale its production capacity to a level that it will meet the national demand for petroleum.

According to the statement, the refinery's contribution to the nation's petroleum demand has been less than 50 percent since 2005 and that this could progressively reduce if nothing was done to increase the production capacity of the plant.

Zambia is looking for a strategic partner to work with the oil refinery which was built in 1973 and has been facing operational challenges due to inadequate capital.

"IDC envisions that a strong strategic equity partner will upscale the production capacity of Indeni to a level that will meet the nation's petroleum demand for the future," it said.

It is currently owned 100 percent by the Industrial Development Corporation on behalf of the government. Enditem