Botswana Oil ramps up investments for 60-day fuel reserves
Lewanika Timothy | Tuesday July 14, 2026 10:49
The target will be achieved through the completion of three strategic fuel depots in Francistown, Gantsi and Tshele Hills, with the latter to be developed under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) after government secured an investment partner through its cooperation agreement with the Sultanate of Oman.
Senior Manager for the Project Management Office, Kabelo Lanka, said Botswana was on course to raise its strategic fuel cover from the current 15 days to 55 days by the first quarter of the 2027-28 financial year before reaching 60 days once the Tshele Hills facility comes on stream.
'We hope and believe that by mid-next year the country will be sitting comfortably at about 55 days' cover, which will be a significant improvement from the current 15 days' cover,' Lanka said during a media tour of the BOL Gaborone Depot last week.
The state-owned company updated that the Francistown Fuel Depot was nearing completion while construction of the Gantsi Fuel Depot had commenced, with the two projects expected to significantly boost the country's storage capacity.
According to Lanka, the Tshele Hills depot will push Botswana's fuel reserves to 60 days by 2035, although this will remain below the 90-day strategic reserve recommended by a government feasibility study.
The expansion forms part of government's long-term strategy to strengthen Botswana's fuel security as the country remains entirely dependent on imported petroleum products. Botswana sources most of its fuel through South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia, leaving the economy exposed to supply disruptions caused by refinery shutdowns, transport bottlenecks and other regional shocks.
In recent years, government has accelerated investment in strategic fuel infrastructure through Botswana Oil, arguing that larger fuel reserves are critical for safeguarding economic activity during supply interruptions. The latest projects also complement broader efforts to diversify import corridors and reduce reliance on individual supply routes.
Lanka said the three depots had been strategically located to support fuel imports from different regional markets.
'Gantsi will come in handy for Namibia imports, Francistown for Mozambique and Tshele for South Africa,' he added.
He said the diversified network would help address vulnerabilities identified through earlier feasibility studies by providing alternative supply routes whenever one corridor experiences disruptions.
Once completed, the Francistown depot will provide storage capacity of 98 million litres, while the Gantsi facility will initially accommodate 30 million litres, with provision for a future expansion of 25 million litres. The proposed Tshele Hills depot will add a further 187 million litres of storage.
BOL expects to issue a P80 million dividend to government for the 2025-2026 financial year, buoyed by an import mandate monopoly that has caused a stir in the market. Since legislative changes that saw the parastatal being awarded a 90% import monopoly of petroleum products into the country, its financial performance has been on the upswing, with management expecting to declare growing dividends for the third year.