(Ecofin Agency) - Engen South Africa’s oil and gas company has recently increased its supply capacity to southern African countries with the launch of the Beira Terminal in Mozambique. The new terminal is targeted at strategically boosting security of supply and to strengthen the supply chain in the region. The terminal was officially launched on September 4. Petroleumafrica reports

The 24,000 meter² Beira Terminal is to supply petrol, diesel and lubricants to the main hubs in Mozambique, as well as to other countries in Southern African where Engen operates, including Zimbabwe.

“We’ve tested railway capabilities from Beira to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe and to Francis town in Botswana, which was very successful.  In essence this means that we can take some pressure off of our Durban Refinery and supply Botswana and Zimbabwe directly from our new depot,” Drikus Kotze, General Manager of Engen’s International Business Division says.

Furthermore,the depot’s strategic value is to ensure the company meets its growth and future market share targets and to establish another supply corridor into Southern Africa.

According to Teodomiro Sarmento, Managing Director of Engen Mozambique, “Having sufficient capacity in the region will reduce our dependency on third parties, lessen our cost of supply through pipeline, and improve efficiencies.”

Sarmento added that further investments are planned for the future, to increase the depot capacity in line with market demands.