Page 10 - AfrOil Week 09 2023

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This development suggests that traders may be When the St. Kitts and Nevis flagged-tanker
scouring the market for new buyers of Russian was en route to the country, the head of Ghana’s
barrels, the news agency writes. National Petroleum Authority (NPA) said the
Meanwhile, the Theseus’ cargo is due to shipment would be blocked if it were bound for
be pumped into storage tanks at the Tema Oil the country.
Refinery Tema (TOR). It would be the first time The NPA has not responded to multiple
that Russian oil has been delivered to a West requests by Bloomberg for comment since the
African country since at least October 2018 and cargo reached Ghanaian territorial waters.
could also be a major boost for TOR, which has It is not known whether Theseus has
been dormant since it exhausted its feedstock offloaded its cargo, but as of February 28, the
supply in mid-2018. vessel remained moored off Tema. ™

Kenya desperate to defer fuel import

payments due to dwindling FX reserves

KENYA KENYA is hoping to arrest a further plunge
in foreign currency reserves by seeking an
extended credit period in settling payments on
oil imports, a development that could have rip-
ple effects on domestic fuel prices.
Petroleum and Energy Cabinet Secretary
Davis Chirchir said the East African nation,
which has seen reserves drop below the statu-
tory requirement, will push for up to a year to
pay for imported oil rather than as soon as it
is delivered to relieve pressure on the foreign
exchange rate.
Foreign exchange reserves currently stand
at $6.86bn, enough for 3.84 months of import
cover, below the statutory requirement of four
months.
“When products arrive in Mombasa [port],
we pay about $500mn within three days. That
causes significant pressure on reserves,” Chirchir
was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Kenya imports the vast majority of its fuel
from countries such as Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), among others,
and pays in dollars. Official data show that
Kenya’s fuel import bill stood at $2bn in the Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davies (Photo: Twitter/@chirchirDavies_)
six months to the end of June 2022, twice the
amount during the same period of 2021. they are due, adding that Kenya is seeking to pay
The significant increase was both attributed in between six months and up to a year.
to high crude prices at the international market Kenya runs an open tender system whereby
and a depreciating Kenyan shilling, which has individual retailers bid to import products for
lost a fifth of its value against the dollar over the the rest of the industry every two months. The
past three years. longer payment period could take effect in the
For Kenyan consumers, the higher fuel coming months.
import bill has been demonstrated by soaring “There are guys working around the clock to
pump prices at the pump and exerting signifi- make sure that the products for April/May are
cant pressures on foreign reserves. supplied under that framework,” he said.
Oil prices account for a significant part as the The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
international benchmark Brent is above $80 a has already warned that Kenya is experienc-
barrel, even though it has dropped from a peak ing a tight period of forex demand coupled
of $139 in March 2022. with reduced liquidity in the interbank foreign
Chirchir said the government will provide a exchange market as well as a depreciation of the
letter to importers and their suppliers abroad, local currency, with the war in Ukraine exacer-
confirming that payments will be made when bating the situation.

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 09 02•March•2023