"We hope to reach a mutual agreement in the next two to three months," Ms Tax-Bamwenda said. "After reaching an agreement the investor will have six months to carry out social, environmental and economic impact assessments before the implementation," she continued. During this period Noor Oil will produce detailed designs for the project, and it is estimated that the project, refinery and pipeline, will take three-years to be completed. It is understood that Africommerce International (ACOM) suggested the pipeline plan in the early 1990s, and the company says that it has so far invested over $11 million in preliminary work, but it has failed to promote the project. ACOM chairman Elisante Muro said the local participation in the project could have been better implemented at the infant stages. "It is not fair. We are still the legal owners of the project as per the Parliamentary Investment Committee last year," Muro said. However, two years ago the project was given to Richmond Development Co (RDC) of Huston, Texas after ACOM delayed its implementation. RDC also failed to develop the project after 18 months of exclusivity that ended last December. Tanzania had its own refinery up to the mid 1990s when the Tanzanian and Italian Petroleum Refining Co (TIPER) ceased production after operating since 1969. At the time, the refinery had a capacity of 875,000 tons/yr, although it was operating at only 60% of this.