Interpetrol Burundi

Interpetrol Burundi S.A. is a petroleum-importing and distribution company based in Bujumbura, Burundi. Its principal business has been the importation and sale of petrol and other fuel products through storage facilities, road tankers, service stations, and supply arrangements with other retailers. The company became an important participant in Burundi’s fuel economy during the civil-war period and the economic embargo imposed from 1996 to 2000, when it continued supplying oil to the domestic market. The business was founded in the early 1990s by Taruk Bashir, a businessman born in Burundi to an Indo-Pakistani family who held both Burundian and Tanzanian citizenship. Interpetrol expanded beyond fuel distribution in 1996 when it acquired the government-built wheat-flour mill at Muramvya. The mill had been constructed in 1978 and privatized in 1992. After Interpetrol renovated its equipment, operations resumed in 2000 under the name MINOLACS. Interpetrol was treated as an enterprise of national interest in 1997 and was granted access to foreign exchange. Its position in the petroleum market strengthened over subsequent decades. In 2012 it was one of ten companies authorized by Burundi’s Ministry of Trade to import fuel after the government reduced the number of recognized importers from 63 by removing inactive firms. The company was also associated with a subsidiary, Interpetrol SARL, established in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo around 2008. The company’s market position became politically controversial. Reporting described Interpetrol as having obtained a quasi-monopoly over oil distribution during the presidency of Pierre Nkurunziza, and an anti-corruption case in the 2000s alleged that the Burundian state had reimbursed the company multiple times for the same losses. The case resulted in the arrest of a central-bank governor, although he was later released without charges. A 2011 U.S. State Department report also said that judges had faced pressure to abandon corruption charges involving Interpetrol owners Munir and Tariq Bashir. These allegations are part of the company’s public record, but they should not be treated as judicial findings against the company or its owners without additional court documentation. In 2017 Interpetrol reportedly acquired Engen Petroleum’s Burundi assets. The same year, it entered into an agreement with Regideso to build and operate a 30-megawatt thermal power station under a ten-year arrangement. The project was intended to reduce electricity load shedding, but disputes later emerged over payment schedules, the volume of power requested, and the applicable electricity price. Fuel shortages repeatedly exposed the company’s importance to Burundi’s economy. Foreign-currency shortages, declining donor support, trade imbalances, and restrictions on fuel-import financing contributed to rationing, black-market prices, and long queues at service stations. In 2019 the government decided to rehabilitate the Société d’Entreposage Pétrolier au Burundi storage facility in collaboration with Interpetrol, which was described as its sole shareholder and manager. In 2021 the government attempted to diversify fuel-import access by directing foreign currency toward other entities, including Regideso and the newly created Prestige. The policy shift was followed by severe supply problems because the newer importers reportedly lacked Interpetrol’s established commercial connections, transport fleet, and storage infrastructure. In 2022 Interpetrol said it was supplying approximately 350,000 litres of petrol per day to more than 110 service stations and distributing roughly 400,000 to 500,000 litres of fuel oil per day during a period of acute shortage. In February 2024, however, a presidential decree created the publicly owned Société Pétrolière du Burundi, or SOPEBU, to centralize petroleum ordering, imports, storage, and distribution. The authorization to import petroleum products was withdrawn from Interpetrol and given to Regideso. The later operational status of Interpetrol is not established by the available reference material.

Interpetrol was founded in the early 1990s by Taruk Bashir and developed as a Burundian petroleum-import and distribution business headquartered in Bujumbura. The company supplied oil during the Burundian Civil War and during the economic embargo that affected the country from 1996 to 2000. In 1996 it diversified by purchasing the Muramvya wheat-flour mill, a state-built facility dating from 1978 that had been privatized in 1992. Interpetrol renovated the mill, which restarted in 2000 under the MINOLACS name. The company received access to foreign exchange in 1997 after being classified as an enterprise of national interest. Around 2008, an Interpetrol SARL subsidiary was established in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2012 the Ministry of Trade reduced the number of recognized fuel importers from 63 to ten, and Interpetrol remained on the authorized list. Interpetrol’s growing role in the fuel market was accompanied by controversy. An embezzlement case that became public in 2007 concerned state reimbursement for losses allegedly incurred before 2002. Investigators claimed that the same bill had been paid three times, producing a treasury loss reported as exceeding US$10 million. Isaac Bizimana, then governor of the Bank of the Republic of Burundi, was arrested and imprisoned before later being released without charges. Former finance minister Denise Sinankwa and other senior figures were also reported as connected to the affair. A 2011 U.S. State Department report said judges had been pressured to drop corruption charges involving Interpetrol owners Munir and Tariq Bashir. The available material does not establish final judicial findings against the company. The company’s position was further strengthened when Engen Petroleum reportedly sold its Burundi assets to Interpetrol in 2017. That year, Regideso contracted Interpetrol to build and operate a 30-megawatt thermal power station for ten years. The project was intended to help reduce electricity load shedding. In 2018 Interpetrol threatened to suspend generation because Regideso had not paid on schedule and was requesting about 20 megawatts while the commercial arrangement was based on 30 megawatts. Regideso disputed the claim and said Interpetrol was charging above the agreed price. Fuel shortages became a recurring national issue as Burundi faced foreign-currency constraints, reduced donor support, economic contraction, and a severe trade imbalance. In 2017 shortages led to rationing, black-market prices, and major disruption to transport and commerce. Critics alleged that the central bank directed too much available foreign currency to Interpetrol, while the company and government faced the broader challenge of financing imports. In 2019 the government decided to rehabilitate the Société d’Entreposage Pétrolier au Burundi facility in cooperation with Interpetrol. Interpetrol was described as the facility’s sole shareholder and manager. In 2021 the administration of Évariste Ndayishimiye sought to diversify fuel imports by limiting Interpetrol’s access to foreign currency and authorizing Regideso and Prestige to participate. The shift coincided with serious shortages because the alternative importers reportedly lacked established storage, transport, and trading infrastructure. Interpetrol reported in April 2022 that it was distributing approximately 350,000 litres of petrol daily to over 110 stations and 400,000 to 500,000 litres of fuel oil per day. Shortages nevertheless continued, including renewed queues in 2023. In February 2024, Presidential Decree 100/034 established SOPEBU, a state-owned petroleum company responsible for coordinating oil orders, maintaining at least three months of physical stock, importing fuel and gas products, and distributing them across Burundi. The petroleum-import license was withdrawn from Interpetrol and assigned to Regideso. The company’s status after that change is not clear from the available sources.

• 2024

  Creation of SOPEBU changes the import structure

  [1]Interpetrol Burundien.wikipedia.org

  A presidential decree creates SOPEBU and removes Interpetrol’s petroleum-import authorization.

• 2017

  Engen Burundi assets reportedly acquired

  [1]Interpetrol Burundien.wikipedia.org

  Interpetrol reportedly purchases Engen Petroleum’s Burundi assets.

• 2017

  Thermal power agreement

  [1]Interpetrol Burundien.wikipedia.org

  Regideso contracts Interpetrol to build and operate a planned 30-megawatt thermal power station.

• 2008

  Expansion into Lubumbashi

  [1]Interpetrol Burundien.wikipedia.org

  Interpetrol SARL is established in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• 2000

  Muramvya mill resumes production

  [1]Interpetrol Burundien.wikipedia.org

  The renovated mill restarts under the MINOLACS name.

• 1997

  Recognized as an enterprise of national interest

  [1]Interpetrol Burundien.wikipedia.org

  The company receives access to foreign exchange under its national-interest classification.

• 1996

  Acquisition of Muramvya flour mill

  [1]Interpetrol Burundien.wikipedia.org

  Interpetrol acquires and begins renovating the former state wheat-flour mill at Muramvya.

• 1990

  Interpetrol is founded

  [1]Interpetrol Burundien.wikipedia.org

  Taruk Bashir establishes the company in Burundi in the early 1990s.

A historically significant Burundian fuel importer and distributor with extensive logistics and storage capabilities, whose prominence was closely connected to the country’s foreign-currency allocation system and petroleum-supply infrastructure.

• Petroleum fuel

  Petrol

  Interpetrol’s core business has been importing petrol into Burundi and distributing it through its own or affiliated service-station network and through agreements with other retailers. The company became a significant supplier during periods when foreign-currency shortages and import restrictions constrained national availability.

• Petroleum fuel

  Fuel oil

  The company also distributed fuel oil for commercial, industrial, transport, and energy uses. In 2022 Interpetrol reported distributing several hundred thousand litres per day during a period of severe fuel scarcity.

• Food processing · 2000

  MINOLACS flour mill

  After acquiring the Muramvya wheat-flour mill in 1996 and renovating its machinery, Interpetrol restarted the facility in 2000 under the MINOLACS name. The mill represented a diversification beyond petroleum distribution.

• Thermal power generation · 2017

  Interpetrol Power Station

  The planned 30-megawatt thermal power station was developed under a 2017 agreement with Regideso. It was intended to provide electricity and reduce load shedding, but the project later became the subject of a dispute over requested output, pricing, and payment delays.

• 2017

  Fuel-shortage and foreign-exchange allocation controversy

  During severe fuel shortages, an anti-corruption organization alleged that the central bank allocated most available foreign currency for fuel imports to Interpetrol. The allegation formed part of a wider dispute over import financing and market concentration.

  Source

• 2011

  Alleged pressure over corruption proceedings

  A U.S. State Department report said judges had been pressured to abandon corruption charges involving Interpetrol owners Munir and Tariq Bashir. This is a reported allegation rather than a confirmed judicial conclusion in the available material.

  Source

• 2007

  Interpetrol reimbursement and embezzlement case

  A public corruption and embezzlement case concerned state reimbursement to Interpetrol for alleged losses incurred before 2002. Claims that one bill had been paid three times were linked to a reported treasury loss of more than US$10 million. The central-bank governor was arrested and later released without charges; the available material does not establish final findings against Interpetrol.

  Source

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• 2024

  Centralize petroleum procurement under SOPEBUStrategy

  Background

  The government aimed to coordinate national fuel orders, build strategic stocks, and distribute petroleum products more evenly.

  Action taken

  Presidential Decree 100/034 created the state-owned SOPEBU and withdrew Interpetrol’s license to import petroleum products, assigning that authorization to Regideso.

  Aftermath

  Interpetrol’s subsequent operating status is unclear from the available sources.

  Source

• 2021

  Diversify fuel-import accessStrategy

  Background

  The government sought to reduce reliance on Interpetrol amid persistent fuel shortages and concerns about foreign-currency allocation.

  Action taken

  The central bank was instructed to reduce foreign-currency supply to Interpetrol while Regideso and Prestige were permitted to import petroleum products.

  Aftermath

  Severe shortages and price increases followed, with the alternative importers reportedly lacking established transport, storage, and trading infrastructure.

  Source

• 2019

  Cooperate on petroleum-storage rehabilitationStrategy

  Background

  Burundi sought to improve fuel storage and reduce vulnerability to supply interruptions.

  Action taken

  The government decided to rehabilitate SEP Burundi in close cooperation with Interpetrol, which was described as the facility’s sole shareholder and manager.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement reinforced Interpetrol’s role in national petroleum logistics, although fuel shortages continued in later years.

  Source

• 2017

  Enter thermal power generationStrategy

  Background

  Burundi faced electricity shortages and load shedding, while Regideso needed additional generation capacity.

  Action taken

  Interpetrol agreed to build and operate a planned 30-megawatt thermal power station for Regideso under a ten-year contract.

  Aftermath

  In 2018 Interpetrol threatened to suspend production over delayed payments and alleged under-utilization. Regideso disputed the company’s pricing claims.

  Source

1. 1Interpetrol Burundien.wikipedia.org