DODOMA, Tanzania, March 4 (UPI) -- The African division of British energy company BP announced it was shifting its regional structure and pulling out of the Tanzanian energy market.
BP Tanzania held a 35 percent share in the gasoline stations in the country and had around 70 percent of the aviation sector.
The company announced it was shifting its focus in Africa following a "strategic review" of its refining and marketing businesses. It told the governments and employees of Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana the company was selling its marketing businesses in the countries, focusing instead on Mozambique and South Africa.
"I would like to stress that BP is and will stay committed to Africa," said BP Africa Chief Executive Sipho Maseko.
Haruna Masebu, the director general of the Energy and Water Utilities authority in Tanzania, told the national newspaper The Citizen that it was unclear what effect the pullout would have for the country.
The government, he said, wasn't formally notified of the decision.
