Page 12 - DMEA Week 48 2021

DMEA TERMINALS & SHIPPING DMEA

Kenya’s Kipevu terminal to

start operating in January

AFRICA KENYA’S new $385mn bulk crude oil and The facility has both subsea and land-based
refined petroleum products handling facility at pipelines connecting it to KPC’s storage tanks at
Mombasa seaport is set to commence operations Kipevu.
in January 2022. “Coming of new KOT is a game changer as it
Building work of the new Kipevu Oil Termi- will reduce demurrage fees Kenya pays for delays
nal (KOT) is 96% complete, and China Commu- in offloading vessels,” KPA acting managing
nications Construction Company (CCCC) is set director John Mwangemi said.
to hand over facility to Kenya Ports Authority Kenya pays about $100,000 daily as demur-
(KPA) before the end of December. rage fees to tanker owners due to delays in off-
The facility will handle big quantities of loading as result of inadequate storage space at
imported refined oil products for Kenya’s domes- the Kipevu Oil Storage Facility (KOSF) depot of
tic use, as well as for export to Uganda, Rwanda, KPC, in the coastal Mombasa town.
Burundi, South Sudan, northern Tanzania and Kenya depends on the 50-year-old single jetty
eastern Congo (Kinshasa). KOT and the single jetty Shimanzi Oil Terminal
KPA said it will conduct dry test runs of the (SOT) to offload tankers.
KOT this month before handling over the facility The old KOT handle tankers for crude oil and
to state-owned Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), refined oil of 80,000 metric tons. SOT handles
which is mandated to pump inland refined fuel refined oil products vessels of up to 30,000 met-
and offer bulk storage. ric tonnes.
“The new terminal will handle four tankers KPC plans to buy storage tanks of Kenya
(vessels) simultaneously and have a liquefied Petroleum Refineries Ltd (KPRL) at Changa-
petroleum gas (LPG) line to increase commod- mwe in Mombasa to increase the capacity of
ity’s supply,” KPA head of corporate affairs Ber- handling imports. The process is expected to be
nard Osero said in telephone interview. completed in the next three months.
KPA, after conducting the dry test run, will “KPC has signed lease agreement to use the
hand over the terminal to KPC to manage the refiner’s facilities but the plan is to acquire KPRL
daily operations of the facility, whose construc- to be part of the state corporation,” KPC infra-
tion started in February 2019. The completion structure development general manager David
date of August 2021 was delayed due to the Muriuki said.
COVID-19 pandemic. He added that KPC plans to invest in LPG
The terminal will accommodate vessels of up bulk storage facility and dedicated pipeline for
to 200,000 dead-weight tonnage (DWT), handle liquefied petroleum gas linked to new KOT. The
crude oil, heavy fuel oil, dual purpose kerosene, tender for building bulk LPG facility is expected
diesel, petrol and LPG, for import and export. to be ready in the first quarter of 2022.™

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