Tonga: Fuel Transport and Storage Infrastructure Feasibility Study
December 20, 2026
Pacific Energy (South West Pacific) Pte. Ltd. invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the “Proposal”) from interested U.S. firms that are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to execute a feasibility study (FS) for the proposed development of port capabilities to accept larger medium-range (MR) tankers and regulatory improvements for cost-reflective fuel tariffs to address the fuel pricing framework (the “Project”) located in the Kingdom of Tonga. The Proposal submission deadline is October 9, 2026 at 4 p.m. EDT. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $1,420,872 grant to Pacific Energy (South West Pacific) Pte. Ltd. from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.
About the Grantee
The grantee is Pacific Energy South West Pacific Pte. Ltd. (PESWP) a subsidiary of Singapore based Pacific Energy Group (PIE), the largest regional oil company operating exclusively in the Pacific Islands. The company operates in ten (10) PICs: French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Tonga, American Samoa, Kiribati, and Tuvalu. Although PESWP is incorporated in Fiji, they provide most of Tonga’s fuel and operate a branch office in Tonga, with 20 permanent staff. All senior staff for PESWP are based in Fiji and would be signing off on deliverables for the FS.
Project Background
The Project will modernize Tonga’s fuel transport and storage infrastructure capacity to accommodate larger fuel shipments through MR Tankers at one of the three options presented above. Accepting MR tankers will enhance the fuel supply chain and lower fuel prices by:
- Allowing for direct shipment of fuel from main supply hubs (e.g., Singapore, Malaysia, etc.) to Tonga and eliminate the need for transshipment to Fiji, avoiding storage fees and port charges;
- Enabling larger volumes of fuel to be shipped directly to Tonga, resulting in less ship rotation and lower costs; and
- Allowing PESWP to more easily divert MR tankers in case of supply disruptions.
Another key component of the Project will be to help the Government of Tonga adopt a supportive legal and regulatory policy environment for pricing mechanisms that provide the necessary financial returns to encourage private sector investments in the future.
About the Study
The proposed FS would support PESWP with assessing three options under consideration for developing port capabilities to accept MR tankers and recommending the most viable option to PESWP. In addition, the FS will examine construction of an MR discharge pipeline from the point of discharge (mooring or port) to the fuel storage terminals and explore expansion of fuel storage capacity from 2.5 million liters to 6 million liters (i.e. potential supply for 60 days). PESWP has sufficient land adjacent to its current storage facilities to support the expansion, with three new 2 million-liter storage tanks being built. The three options for port adaptation are described below:
1. Adapting Queen Salote Wharf – This site is the preferred option according to PESWP, and a recent wharf upgrade is the flagship component of the Nuku’alofa Port Upgrade Project, which is a $70 million investment co-financed by the Asian Development Bank and the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP). Based on these upgrades, the wharf should be deep enough to support an MR tanker, but an independent assessment is needed based on the current port layout, berth configuration, and required marine works. This option would require a new discharge pipeline of approximately 1 km from the port to the fuel storage facilities.
2. Building a new mooring facility at sea – A new mooring facility would likely be located further offshore in deep waters from the existing local coastal tanker (LCT) mooring facility Touliki Port. It would require larger and longer pipelines to transport fuel to the fuel storage facilities.
3. Adapting the Vuna Cruise Ship Terminal to enable wharfing – The Vuna Cruise Ship Terminal is located 3km from the PESWP fuel storage site and is currently dedicated to cruise ship use. The port may be sufficient to accommodate MR tankers, and no adaptation would be needed.
The FS will also prepare initial engineering designs for the recommended optimal infrastructure upgrades; develop capital expenditure estimates for the recommended infrastructure upgrades; create a cost-effective model for transportation and storage in the outer islands; assess the legal and regulatory landscape surrounding fuel prices in Tonga; recommend pricing mechanisms that provide the necessary financial returns to encourage private sector investments; provide capacity building meetings with the Government of Tonga, specifically the TCA, Department of Energy, the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development, and the Tonga Energy Commission (TEC), on cost reflective rates to attract private investment; assess financial and institutional options, such as public-private partnerships; perform economic analysis to assess the viability of the Project; identify potential for U.S. exports; identify project risks and mitigation measures; and assess environmental and development impacts of the Project.
