Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo said it is not possible for Angola to sell fuel to Namibia as it does not export petrol or diesel despite the country having a refinery.

Alweendo made the statement in the National Assembly on Thursday, following questions posed to him by Rally for Democracy and Progress parliamentarian, Mike Kavekotora.

Kavekotora wanted to know why Namibia is not importing oil from Angola, where it is cheap.

Alweendo said Angola is only refining less than 20 per cent of their needs, thus it is not possible for the neighbouring country to sell fuel to Namibia – be it diesel or petrol.

“We are all concerned about the fuel price in the country. In 2020, the average price for both diesel and petrol was N.dollars 12 per litre. Today the price of diesel is N.dollars 22 and that of petrol is N.dollars 21 per litre,” he stated.

This, he said, is an increase of 83 per cent in 21 months, putting a huge burden on the consumer.

The minister said while this is alarming, it is important to note that the increasing fuel price is not unique to Namibia, but is a global phenomenon that has caused social upheavals in some countries.

Kavekotora also wanted to know whether the fuel used in Angola can be used in vehicles in Namibia.

To this Alweendo said the diesel specification used in Namibia is 50 parts per million (ppm), while for petrol it is 95-octane unleaded.

He said in Angola the specification for diesel is 500ppm and 93-octane for petrol, which means Namibia is using diesel that has less sulphur than what is used in Angola.

“The benefits of using lower sulphur diesel and high octane petrol include better performance and the longer lifespan of lubricants, resulting in extended service intervals and a prolonged engine lifetime,” he explained.

Another benefit is the fact that more refined fuel products emit less greenhouse gases into the environment, adding that Namibia is signatory to the Paris Agreement on climate change.

On the price, Alweendo said there isn’t a big price difference on fuel specification, giving an example that in South Africa the price for 95-octane per litre is currently R22.36 and that 93-octane is R22.06, which equates to a difference of 30 cents.

As for diesel there, the 50ppm retails at R24.30 per litre, while the 500ppm retails at R24.06, a difference of 24 cents.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency