BP wins huge fuel storage tender for Orapa

Brian Benza
Staff Writer | Friday June 18, 2010 00:00

The P850-million power plant, which is currently under construction and is expected to be operational by October, will be BP's second power project in Botswana after it built the one million-litre storage facility at the 70MW power plant in Matshelagabedi near Francistown.

BP, which also supplies fuel to all Debswana mines, Morupule Colliery, BCL and CTO currently pumps around 50, 000 litres of diesel into the 70MW plant installed by international power developing company, APR.

BP General Manager Mahube Mpugwa says clinching the two contracts, which will pump a combined 160MW into the national grid, 'demonstrates the confidence the market has in the company' inspite of its stated intention to sell its operation in Botswana as a going concern.

Two turbines worth US37 million, which will consume 17, 000 litres per hour per unit, are currently being installed at the Orapa power station.

Mpugwa says in the next few weeks, BP will begin construction of the storage facility which will supply the two turbines with 292, 000 litres of fuel for the eight hours per day that the plant will run.

'We are quite excited about these opportunities to contribute to the power supply situation in the country through the power-picking plants such as Orapa and Matshelagabedi,' he says. 'Until Morupule B comes on stream, the country is going to rely heavily on these power-picking plants.

'We have been given about four months to complete the project. Apart from constructing the facility and supplying the fuel, we also plan to have a site manager at the plant who will be responsible for receiving and dispatching supplies.'

The power station should ease power shortages by removing Debswana mines, which consume 85MW, from the national grid and provide an extra 5MW for consumption by other users.

Regarding BP's stated plans to pull out of the country, Mpugwa says it is business as usual for now and will remain so until the transaction has been completed. 'Nothing has changed as the operation is still to be sold,' he said.

'But even after the sale, business will go on as always. This will be a change of name and ownership only.'

In a related matter, Mpugwa says fuel supplies into the country will soon be back to normal following the ending of industrial action by transport sector workers in South Africa that affected supplies to Botswana. 'Supplies are near normal,' he says. 'What we are now dealing with in most instances is backlogs, but I believe the situation should be back to pre-strike levels soon.'

The recent strike by Transnet workers, whose employer controls South Africa's port and rail operations, resulted in fuel supply shortages of up to 50 percent in Botswana last month.