Oil major BP Plc has announced today that it will pull out of five countries in southern Africa following a strategy review, but will still invest to grow its market share in Mozambique and South Africa.
The company said it plans to sell its marketing businesses in Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana, but said Mozambique and South Africa offered better synergies with its supply portfolio.
“I would like to stress that BP is and will stay committed to Africa,” BP Africa’s Chief Executive Sipho Maseko said.
“We have significant operations in Angola, Mozambique and South Africa and in Algeria, Egypt and Libya. We will continue to grow and invest in those markets, especially in the value chain infrastructure.”
BP said it had informed the governments of the five countries it is exiting of its plans, but did not specify when the assets would be sold.
BP Zambia plc is an oil industry heavy weight supplying petrol, diesel and heavy fuel oils (HFOs), which are used in copper production. It has a refinery and blending plant in Kitwe.
Reuters/ LT
OK. Kabiyeni mwikabwelako fulti :-h
Interesting. is this a threat or an opportunity?
Damn!!! what an opportunity for Zambian enterprenuers!!!
I hope we dont allow Somalis to take over, we Zambians can be dim sometimes
Yeah but energy is capital intensive business so you need to have a good balance sheet or very shary entreprenueurship skills
#3 what a wum you are! Can you read? BP have a plant! You I’d iots can’t even run akantemba so shut up!
A Plant is an Asset! It could be sold. Read before you tell others to read.:-w
#6, typical Zambian who can’t identify opportunities!!!! So who do you think is the rightful investor to take over from BP?? Chinese?? or Indians??? Shame!!!:-w
Mrs Magic, if i may ask why are you so rude?? At first i found t funny, but now its not fnny anymore, its like you wake up angry over something. Are you getting enough s.e.x at night?? I can assist you….
By the way Mrs Magic, who are the *****s that cant run tuntembaz??? If you do not believe in yourself then you have no right to judge others and call them *****s. If your temperement is always like this i really feel for Mr. Magic.
Welcome Sino Petrolium
Ba BP naweve nichani kansi?? I hope their moving out of Zed has nothing to do with RB government although i know a lot of polititians will use this opportunity to throw poisoned arrows at RB. Goodluck RB and brace yourself for the opposition to attack. Normally the 1st story in the press is the incorrect one and thers a deeper depth to it so lets wait and see, kapena BP refused to give RB a ka “brown” envelope he he he
“if one door closes, another shall open” I just pray it will be a Golden door this time around[-o<. What happens to the emplyees though?:-?
All we need is an Oil Refinery and affordable crude oil source thats all. OMCs buy and sell within Zambia. Our main concern should be about the Refinery and Crude Oil Country men and women.
I can imagin what would happen if you had intrusted an OMC with importation of fuel without producing in the country.
You fools BP is pulling out meaning job loses, the economy is shakened it has been an oil heavy weight firm in zambia be sides that it it likely that the kenyans,chinese and or indians will have an easy hand going at and pounce on this opportunity to the detriment of our people. Am so shocked that some of you are even happy…..foools in the diaspora!
I like the enthusiasm of Zambians on here, but reality is another thing. Binani started selling their assets!
Mrs Magic is right
the chinese are out side waiting
#14
I conquor with you what we need is definately a refinery plant, therefore, the onus is on the govt to provide vision on this matter or else we are plunged into chaos and also we must realise that as long as corrupt elements within the govt are not swept out e.g Konga we are doomed already Zesco has ceded it’s optical fibre…..some food for thoughts. :-?:-?
I like the enthusiasm of Zambians on here, but reality is another thing. Binani started selling their assets!!
Mrs Magic is right
Now thats not very good news, employment% will go up now and our president’s only words are that he is in a hurry to develop Zambia. Its truelly a battle of the fittest. I hope the people that will enter the market with this development wont exploit us!:”>
BP are one of the most expensive you can ever get in this world, and, it`s reason they survived all this time in Zambia. Sometimes you are better off with something than nothing at all!
Give me just one name of a Zambian let alone a consotium of Zambians who can take over from BP and still maintain the same standards, jobs, efficiency and reliability!
Amazing a certain Mrs Magic can reason better than men on here!
#20 Miss Daisy all smiles ninshi? ni first time ka picture? elo nasuba petroleum kwati takuli milo.deuces:)>-:)>-
I think if we had serious Zambians who are not selfish they can come together like a consortium them buy BP and make sure the keep standard to international levels.Its possible aim for excellence.
The problem we have is many Zambians don’t believe in themselves. This is an opportunity for a challenge.
You see selfishness like the government forcing Zesco to cede the optic fibre to Zamtel when zesco is capable of running the optic fibre and to make money for the country. But now what will happen zamtel which will be sold if not bought already by a foreign company will have control of the optic fibre. Which from the begining was a major ivestment for the country, as it was to be and will be a hub for the southern african region.but now the money will be leaving the country to the…
So what do you suggest we do, plead with BP? These guys have already made a decision, that is why they are saying they have informed, not discussed, with host governments. It is pure capitalism and profit. With a filling station opening every hour and every corner in Zambia, the competition in Zambia is stiff and these guys do not like competition, never mind what they say in public. Pure profit motive decision, nothing to do with RB or Sata or HH or the new boy on the block Elias Chipimo junior. Ba Milupi here is a business opportunity, politics is not for you ba bwana.
BP = Beyond Petroleum.
In case bloggers are misled by Reuters and LT story, BP DO NOT own an oil refinery anywhere in Zambia. The only oil refinery in Zambia is Indeni in Ndola. BP will still bulk supply Zambia with fuel from their South Africa and Mozambique bases without having to compete on the Zambian retail market. So they will still try to screw us and make their money.
May be interersting to watch what BP and the other big oil guys Total, etc are doing in Africa. They are probably carving out niches by mutual agreement. Remember the Scramble for Africa? Old economics but still applicable. These guys can compete but they have enough sense to cooperate when it matters.
By the way these are things the likes of Sata can never comprehend, just a thought!
Then it`s not looking good for the country! That`s another company gone! The question we should be asking is: Why Mozambique and South Africa? Before you cadres jump at landlocked, these guys are still running businesses in many landlocked countries.
I said above that these guys are very expensive but sometimes in life, you are better off with something than nothing at all!
# 21 there are several Zambians who can do that. Since the sale will be from outside Iam hopeful some Zambians can get something. Who runs BP Zambia? Are those standards maintained by outsiders. I will agree they are formulated in the UK but still run by Zambians. Do you know who owns Zambezi Airlines? Do you know that Chimsoro farms owned by a Zambian competes favourably in wheat growing with Mpongwe Milling ( Probably the largest wheat farm in Zambia) which is foreign owned. We are the masters of our fate, the captains of our souls. Believe in your own.
I hope the chinees pipo wont tak advantag of dis, to bring dare bogus investments
#29 More like who runs Barclays! lol!
Please note that BP Zambia has no refinery and blending plant in Zambia. Lets correct errors before publication.
Whats is the lowdown on zamtel sell, and Zesco not doing the Fibre?
they are levaing becoz MMD has failed to manage oil supply in the country..
It is a sad development. Hope we wl have suitable companies to fill the vacuum.
Yaba! This is it. We can’t manage fossil fuel on our own. Lesa wesu twa papata please bring back Welenshiki or even Smifi!
Any off shore oil reserves in Z?? Sad really – that country is being offered to foreigners on the cheap! le gweregwere issues at per SA will never happen as they have the muscles to manage the zambians!!
What tangable stuff is left in Z?
🙂 No# 22 walai nthwenu, Miss Daisy is the only Nubian Jewel of the Nile that posts her photos on LT, and she is always smiling. Beautiful lady that sounds wise too. How is the UK? Great opportunity here folks lets grab it. BP is not the powerhouese it once was. Just like Ford the fell off.
Chabipa ba BP ukulonga. Zambia will be a desert
bane we are the investors that zambia is waiting for..only us abene ba chalo will build zambia no one else..the trouble is in the thousand mile journey of development, zambians are afraid to even begin tying their shoe strings….manje ngati muyopa kuyesa onse ninshi Ziko izaka punzila bwanji kuzisunga?
@34 “The company said it plans to sell its marketing businesses in Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana, but said Mozambique and South Africa offered better synergies with its supply portfolio”, I thought this is what I read. How then does the MMD come in? Don’t worry I get it. The MMD has failed in Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania, and Botswana, too.
Bane Yes or No the impact will be highly felt in Zambia becoz already Fuel in zambia is expensive compared to countries like Congo DR ,Malawi,Botswana.So let us not Cheat ourselves,especially that a lot of zambians with money are selfish just like our Politicians and this makes it impossible to build another refinery plant.
bp in Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania, and Botswana
I believe these guys have about 70% market share of the fuel business. USD330m revenue in one of the four preceding financial years. Thats a hell of a gap to fill. Great opportunity nonetheless; for those with the wherewithal
Seems to be quite the trend these days. Most companies are right sizing their operations and end markets that are not very profitable or do not have high potential going forward are either closed or reduced to a marketing/sales support function.
The challenge to government is are they doing enough to make it easier to run a business in Zambia – operational costs (fuel, transport, travel, communication costs, IT) remain relatively high compared to other neighbouring states and of course the usual municipal and national government’s agenda going forward should give investors confidence.
Expect a lot more of this going forward if as a nation we do not address the root causes of some of these business impediments.