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Herald Reporter

The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has extended by two weeks the expiration date for fuel procurement licenses that were supposed to lapse yesterday, to ensure adequate supply of fuel on the market.

ZERA announced the extension in a statement yesterday.

“The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority) hereby notifies holders of fuel procurement licenses issued in 2021 that the expiry date has been extended to Wednesday, 15 January 2022 from 31 December 2021 to ensure that there are no disruptions in the supply of fuel.

“Please be advised that after 15 January 2022, no company will be allowed to import fuel without a new procurement license for 2022 and no exemption letters will be issued to any company,” reads the statement.

With the festive season coming to an end and schools set to re-open in the coming  weeks, the demand for fuel is likely to increase.

ZERA said the qualification requirements for procurement licensees for 2022 provided in the organisation’s public notice issued last week, remain in place.

A wholesale license was set at US$10 534, retail at US$572,50 and US$229 for urban and rural areas respectively while production license will be US$22 900.

A production license for blending is US$5 725 while the retail license for liquid petroleum gas is US$114,50 and the whole sale price is US$9 160.

ZERA warned people and business entities from selling petroleum products without requisite licenses saying it was a criminal offence, according to the Petroleum Act.

Zimbabwe experienced some fuel shortages at the end of November last year due to logistical challenges at the Port of Beira where the bulk of the country’s fuel imports come in from.