Govt Document Shows 2nd Wave of Fuel Shortage Looming

In a statement seen by kenyagist.com, Petroleum Principal Secretary Andrew Kamau wrote to OMCs, calling them out for hoarding fuel reserves for export at the expense of the local market.

PS Kamau revealed that some of the suppliers were holding in excess of 34 million litres in their transit volumes within Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) system for export – a practice he termed unacceptable.

According to the document, only two suppliers, Vivi Energy and Rubis stuck to their export quota and were even in deficit. On the other hand, Asharai had the largest reserves, 13.2 million litres, accounting for 38.8 per cent of the commodity in excess transit 

The Ministry of Petroleum ordered that the marketers retract the excess consignment from the KPC reserves by 6 p.m on April 26, or risk being banned from importing fuel into the country. 

Owing to the malpractices, several fuel stations have reported dry pumps in the last couple of days, especially in Western Kenya. This has seen long queues resurface including in some parts of Nairobi.

To curb the first phase of the fuel shortage, Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma asked OMCs to prioritize the local market, preferring that they channel 60 per cent of their stock to retailers.

This comes despite an earlier warning by CS Juma to suppliers who were accused of  hoarding the product to capitalise on profits in line with the mid-month price review that saw pump prices increase by Ksh9.90 

The CS threatened to revoke the licenses of oil marketers who failed to comply with the ministry’s regulations.

“I have sanctioned a process of relocating the petroleum import capacity. OMCs who sold above their normal quota during the crises will benefit from additional capacity while those who sold less will have their respective capacity reduced,” she stated.

On April 26, a section of officials from Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and the National Oil Corporation (NOC) left the country for United Arab Emirates (UAE) to forge a partnership to avert another fuel crisis.

Sources privy to the matter intimated that Kenya was seeking to strike a deal that will see NOC import the bulk of the country’s oil in a bid to ensure security of the supply of petroleum products in the country.

FILE: AMD CS MONICA JUMA DURING PAST PRESS BRIEFING