Zimbabwe increased oil imports from Iranian

Nicholas Kitikiti said the Southern African country was negotiating with Iran for renovating Feruka oil refinery. He said an agreement had been reached that would see Iran supplying the bulk of the fuel at the refurbished refinery. "Zimbabwe has told Iran it needs low-sulphur diesel," he added. "Transporting diesel to Zimbabwe will require special facilities on account of that country's problems with storing and transporting petroleum products, an issue Iran will have to address if it agrees to the proposal," MNA reported yesterday. In 2006, the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company signed an agreement to refurbish the Feruka refinery, but the project is yet to be implemented. Zimbabwe has been facing perennial fuel shortages for over a decade and several deals with oil producing countries have collapsed due to the country's financial problems.