The Ethiopian Petroleum Supplier Enterprise (EPSE) has said that Ethopia imported petroleum worth more than US$1bn over the last six months from neighbouring Sudan via the port of Djibouti
An official from the Ethiopian petroleum body said that the stated fuel amount was imported at a cost US$1.12bn in the past six months and added that a similar amount of petroleum will be expected to be imported over the next six months to meet the growing demand for energy in Ethiopia.
The fuel imported during first half of the Ethiopian fiscal year was a rise of 21 per cent in comparison to the same period last year.
According to an EPSE spokesperson, Alemayehu Tsegaye, Ethiopia imports up to 85 per cent of its annual oil consumption from neighbouring Sudan, largely due to its geographic proximity.
The Horn of Africa nation saves at least US$10mn in transit-related costs per year by using Sudanese oil sources rather than importing from markets further afield, such as the Middle East, he added.
Tsegaye noted that more than 50 per cent of Ethiopia’s imports were directed at meeting the nation’s fuel demand.
