ZPPA announces bids for crude oil suppliers

ZPPA announces bids for crude oil suppliers
By Chibaula Silwamba
Sun 17 Jan. 2010, 04:00 CAT

LITASCO is among the seven companies that submitted bids to supply and deliver 1.4 million metric tonnes of crude oil to Zambia for the 2010-2011 period.

Opening the bids that were submitted at Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) office in Lusaka on Friday, ZPPA acting director of purchasing goods and services Shadreck Shawa announced that seven companies had submitted the bids.

The bidders are Russia's Lukoil International Trading and Supply Company (LITASCO), Kuwait's Independent Petroleum Group (IPG) company, Kenya's Gulf Energy Limited, Glencore Energy UK Limited, Vitol SA, Trafigura and Addax Energy SA.

IPG was the crude oil supplier to Zambia for two years, from 2008 to 2009 and the contract expired on December 31, 2009.

Shawa read a notification of non-participation from Kobil Petroleum Limited.
After this, the bids will be taken to the Ministry of Energy and Water Development for evaluation.
Shawa said the winner of the bid is expected to be announced after about a month.

Last week, well-placed government sources revealed to The Post that the government, through energy minister Kenneth Konga, availed the original tender document to LITASCO through its official Leon Hayward for the firm to suggest some changes in its favour and disadvantage competitors.

But when contacted for comment, Konga denied any linkage to LITASCO although insiders said he had been working closely with Hayward from June last year when a Zambian businessman introduced LITASCO to President Rupiah Banda at State House.
Sources revealed that Konga and Hayward met on several occasions in Johannesburg and Lusaka to discuss the oil procurement deal.

A comparison between the original tender document and the revised one showed that the Ministry of Energy and ZPPA made changes on all the points that Hayward disapproved.
When contacted from Dubai, Hayward declined to comment on the revelations.
Responding to a press query, Konga stated that he had no role in the tender process other than giving policy guidance at the Ministry of Energy.

“I, therefore, did not give any tender document to LITASCO. The document can be accessed by any third parties (other than the Ministry of Energy and Water Development and Zambia Public Procurement Authority) when they buy it from ZPPA. Given the fact that the document can be sold to anyone who wants it, it is in that sense a public document,” stated Konga.

But a ZPPA source dismissed Konga's explanation.

“Just wait and see, unless something fundamentally changes, this contract is destined for LITASCO and there is enough evidence to show that Mr Konga has been in touch with Leon Hayward of LITASCO,” the source said.