Landlocked Botswana Looks to Secure Fuel From Nigeria to Oman

Landlocked Botswana is negotiating to buy fuel from a wide range of sources to safeguard its supply from war-related shocks and increase its options, according to its energy minister.

The southern African nation has already struck deals with Oman and held talks with its neighbors and Aliko Dangote, the continent’s richest person, whose Lagos refinery ramped up production in February — just as the Iran war curtailed crude shipments, Bogolo Kenewendo said.

“Because we are clear that we never want to have any fuel insecurity, we’ve engaged Dangote, we’ve engaged Angola, we’ve engaged Cote d’Ivoire to ensure that they can supply us,” she said in an interview in Gaborone, the capital. A deal with Oman resulted in the delivery of the first shipment from OQ Trading Ltd. earlier this month.

Physical shortages of fuel and skyrocketing pump prices are sensitive issues for nations in Africa, where transportation costs consume a large portion of household budgets. Governments have struck exclusive supply deals with traders including Vitol Group with the aim of avoiding outages.

Botswana has typically received fuel via South Africa and is looking at alternatives, including bringing it in via a pipeline which Dangote plans to build and will run from a terminal in the Namibian port of Walvis Bay through southern Africa, according to Kenewendo.

“We have diversified our routes to Mozambique and to Namibia, and in order for those routes to work properly, we need to have good storage facilities, coastal storage facilities, in both areas,” she said.

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