LUSAKA – Zambia’s petroleum procurement debt has fallen to approximately US$210 million as of July 2026, according to the Ministry of Energy, which says reforms to fuel procurement and transport have reduced the legacy obligation.
The ministry reported that the debt had declined from more than US$900 million in 2022 after the Government withdrew from financing petroleum imports and shifted procurement responsibility to private companies.
Parliamentary record shows the debt trajectory
The latest figure is a government estimate. A detailed statement to the National Assembly in June 2025 recorded petroleum debt of US$877.2 million at the end of June 2024, including principal and accumulated late-payment interest.
The same parliamentary statement said the balance had fallen to US$735.8 million by December 2024 and to US$521.7 million during 2025 following payments, interest caps and negotiated settlements with suppliers.
The Ministry of Energy has not published a supplier-by-supplier breakdown supporting the July 2026 balance. It also did not provide a deadline for clearing the remaining US$210 million.
TAZAMA reforms and fuel prices
The ministry said converting the TAZAMA Pipeline from commingled feedstock to diesel had improved the fuel supply chain. It also credited the open-access framework introduced in April 2025 with increasing competition and lowering transport costs.
Diesel prices declined from K32.54 per litre in March 2025 to K28.11 in July 2026. The Energy Regulation Board has separately attributed the July price reduction to lower international oil prices and a modest appreciation of the kwacha, indicating that domestic reforms were one of several influences on pump prices.
The open-access framework was temporarily suspended during recent Middle East supply disruptions. The ministry said the decision was an emergency measure and not a reversal of policy.
More storage capacity planned
The Government says construction of the 102,000-cubic-metre New Lusaka Fuel Depot has been completed and final commissioning is under way. It has also commissioned the Chipata Fuel Depot and is building 120,000 cubic metres of storage at Kigamboni in Tanzania.
According to the ministry, the additional capacity would raise Zambia’s total fuel storage from 666,078 to 786,078 cubic metres. It also reported strategic stocks providing 21 days of diesel cover and 15 days of petrol cover.
The Government is advancing a Tanzania-Zambia multi-product petroleum pipeline, although the statement did not disclose its estimated cost, financing structure or delivery timetable.
The reduction in petroleum arrears would ease one source of fiscal pressure, but the remaining balance and the cost of new fuel infrastructure will require transparent reporting. The wider debt and energy constraints facing the country are examined in The Zambian Economist’s assessment of Zambia’s economic position in August 2026.
