Zambia has postponed the return of open access to its primary fuel-import pipeline until January 2027.
The east African country suspended open access to the TAZAMA Pipeline in April 2026 after the American-Iranian conflict disrupted global energy markets and threatened domestic fuel supplies.
Zambia then awarded exclusive access to Vitol Group, the commodity trader, to supply diesel through the line until September 2026.
Tazama Pipeline Ltd, which operates the 1,700-kilometre facility, had previously asked oil trading companies to pre-qualify to transport diesel through the infrastructure starting in October 2026.
The International Monetary Fund had also advised Zambia to restore the competitive system, describing the current arrangement as monopolistic and pressuring the country to reopen the line to facilitate lower procurement costs and market transparency.
The government has given no reasons for the postponement of open access to the line, which connects the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam to Zambia’s mineral-rich Copperbelt province.
Ephraim Munshifwa, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Energy, simply said on a Facebook post, that “the process to resume TAZAMA open access in January 2027 is underway”.
