Mr. Mkhuseli Faku, AfricOil (Pty) Ltd., 2 Norwich Close, 66 Grayston Dr., Sandown, Sandton, Gauteng 2146, Rep.of South Africa, Tel: 011-27-11-784-5583, Fax: 011-27-11-784-5588

B -- SOUTH AFRICA: PETROLEUM STORAGE AND TANKER MOORING PROJECT FEASIBILITY STUDY POC POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009 The Grantee invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms which are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to develop a feasibility study for a proposed petroleum storage and tanker mooring project in South Africa. AfricOil Pty Ltd. (AfricOil) was established in August 1995 as the first black-controlled and managed oil company in South Africa. It was formed by the transfer of one hundred Caltex service stations in the Gauteng province to AfricOil, with technical and logistics support from Caltex provided on an as-needed basis. From this initial retail market basis, AfricOil has expanded into the wholesale distribution of petroleum products to both the government and private retail sectors. AfricOil is now gearing up for representation and expansion into other South African provinces. At the moment, South Africa's petroleum industry is heavily regulated. The government does not allow the importation of refined petroleum products and there is not enough forecast demand to justify the construction of new refining facilities. AfricOil, as well as other black empowerment oil companies, are therefore wholly dependent on the supply of refined products supplied by existing refineries owned by South African and multi-national corporations-Caltex, BP, Shell, Total, Petronas, Sasol, and Mossgas -- many of whom are also their competitors in the distribution market. AfricOil has recognized that it must establish independent sources of supply if it is to be truly competitive and realize long-term sustainable growth. To this end, AfricOil is proposing to build a petroleum product import terminal in Durban on the Indian Ocean and import refined products. The Government's draft white paper on energy policy advocates the deregulation of the petroleum industry by the year 2002, which would be accompanied by an across-the-board lifting of the restriction on the import of refined petroleum products to comply with WTO. AfricOil plans to import product via a purpose-built single-point-mooring (SPM) to be installed offshore abeam the Durban International Airport, which is working to identify buyers for its land so that it can relocate to La Mercy outside the city. The SPM would be a one-way delivery facility which, at a later stage, may be turned into a two-way delivery line to facilitate the re-loading of product for other destinations. The SPM would have the capacity to handle tankers up to 120,000 tons. The onshore tank farm will consist of approximately 80 hectares adjacent to the existing airport. This site is close to the ENREF and SAPREF refineries; adjacent to a rail siding; and will have access to Petronet's main petroleum pipeline providing access to the interior. A consortium of companies is currently being proposed to own and operate the terminaling facilities. It will include AfricOil and its parent, Worldwide African Investment Holdings; Energy Oil Group, a local tank farm operator; and Allied Mineral and Petroleum, an experienced oil trading company. The proposed feasibility study will address both technical and economic issues intended to address all necessary considerations to arrange financing for the project. It is also intended to define the social impact of the project and the contribution it would make to the government's transformation policies and empowerment objectives. The specific components include: 1) social impact assessment, 2) conceptual design and cost estimate, 3) environmental impact review, 4) financial analysis, and 5) business plan/financing. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $163,000 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and a background definitional mission report are available from TDA, at 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209-2131. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the IRC, TDA at 703-875-4009. In the fax, please include your firm's name, contact person, address, and telephone number. Some firms have found that RFP materials sent by U.S. mail do not reach them in time for preparation of an adequate response. Firms that want TDA to use an overnight delivery service should include the name of the delivery service and your firm's account number in the request for the RFP. Firms that want to send a courier to TDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to TDA before scheduling a pick-up. Please note that no telephone requests for the RFP will be honored. Please check your internal fax verification receipt. Because of the large number of RFP requests, TDA cannot respond to requests for fax verification. Requests for RFPs received before 4:00 PM will be mailed the same day. Requests received after 4:00 PM will be mailed the following day. Please check with your courier and/or mail room before calling TDA. Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this TDA financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under TDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the TDA-financed activity, must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the TDA-financed activity. All goods and services to be provided by the selected firm shall have their nationality, source and origin in the U.S. or host country. The U.S. firm may use subcontractors from the host country for up to 20 percent of the TDA grant amount. Details of TDA's nationality requirements and mandatory contract clauses are also included in the RFP. Interested U.S. firms should submit their Proposal in English directly to the Grantee by 4:00 P.M., Friday, May 7, 1999 at the above address. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the RFP. Price will not be a factor in contractor selection, and therefore, cost proposals should NOT be submitted. The Grantee reserves the right to reject any and/or all Proposals. The Grantee also reserves the right to contract with the selected firm for subsequent work related to the project. The Grantee is not bound to pay for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of Proposals. Posted 03/08/99 (I-SN306124). (0067)

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