Page 11 - AfrOil Week 18 2022

AfrOil POLICY AfrOil

Nairobi notes fuel shortages,

attempts to mitigate concerns

KENYA DEMAND for petroleum products has been consignment of 85,000 tonnes (104.748mn)
rising in western Kenya over the last week, and litres of diesel aboard the MT Elka Athina tanker
officials in Nairobi are blaming the increase on to be dedicated to the local market. The vessel is
drivers from neighbouring countries, saying expected to berth on May 12, 2022.
that consumers are crossing the border to take Kenya’s government has also issued a direc-
advantage of the subsidies that Kenya’s govern- tive for dedicated volumes from the discharge of
ment pays to keep domestic fuel prices under the MT Campo Square and the MT Elka Athina
control. to be set aside for non-franchised (independent)
Kenya’s Acting Petroleum and Mining Cab- retail filling stations.
inet Secretary Monica Juma expressed concern Juma further assured the country that as of
last week about supply shortages that were April 27, 2022, the inventories within KPC’s
arising from increased demand. “This spike storage system amounted to 97.367mn litres
in demand is being driven by the preference of petrol, equivalent to 17 days of consump-
of transit customers to fuel in Kenya owing to tion, and 77.81mn litres of diesel, or 12 days of
price differential with neighbouring countries,” consumption. The Ministry of Petroleum and
she said on April 27. Mining will continue its surveillance to ensure
The country’s western region is the exit the security of petroleum product supplies in
point for vehicles travelling through to Uganda, Kenya, she added. ™
Rwanda, Burundi, the eastern Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan.
To address shortages, the Petroleum and
Mining Ministry, after consulting oil marketing
companies (OMCs), has said that all pumpable
fuel stock within the Kenya Pipeline Co. (KPC)
system must adhere to a 60:40 local-to-transit
ratio.
This means that OMCs that allocate more
than 40% of their volumes to transit must redi-
rect more fuel to the Kenyan domestic market.
“OMCs with higher transit stocks than the
prescribed ratio to immediately localise the
excess stocks,” Juma was quoted as saying in an
April 27 press release posted to the Ministry of
Petroleum and Mining’s Twitter account.
She also said that a cargo of 85,000 tonnes or
133.509mn litres of gasoline slated to arrive on
the MT Campo Square tanker would be dedi-
cated to the local market. The vessel was set to
berth at Mombasa seaport on April 30.
The Ministry has also directed a whole Juma says KPC’s storage tanks hold adequate fuel supplies (Photo: KPC)

PROJECTS & COMPANIES
Sonatrach starts Hassi Messaoud refinery

ALGERIA SONATRACH, Algeria’s national oil company in a statement as saying that the facility was 99%
(NOC), has announced the launch of a 60,000 complete. The refinery was one of a raft of pro-
barrel per day (bpd) greenfield refinery in the jects mentioned by Sonatrach in January, when
eastern town of Hassi Messaoud. Hakkar said the company had budgeted $40bn
Company CEO Toufik Hakkar, who attended for its 2022-2026 capital programme, with $8bn
the unveiling ceremony for the plant, was quoted allocated for this year alone..

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