Page 12 - DMEA Week 03 2022

DMEA FUELS DMEA

Imported fuel causes dispute in Kenya

AFRICA OIL marketers have asked Kenya’s energy regu- Salaad said Gulf’s cargo of petrol should not
lator to exclude a cargo of 30,000 tonnes of petrol be considered in pump price setting by the reg-
privately imported from the schedule of monthly ulator and for subsequent compensation by the
pricing. stabilisation fund, as it will not only set a bad
The Oil Marketers Association of Kenya precedence but also promote illegal acts.
(OMAK), representing the firms, said Gulf Ener- “The Kenyan public should not be forced
gy’s cargo was privately imported and should to bear costs arising from commercial deci-
not be included in the price computation by the sions made by a few oil marketing companies
Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (OMCs),” Salaad said in letter sent to EPRA’s
(EPRA). director-general Daniel Kiptoo.
“The subject remains a private cargo [that] Salaad copied the letter dated January 13,
was irregularly imported into the country in 2022 to Petroleum Cabinet Secretary John
total disregard of [the] law, and without docu- Munyees, Petroleum Principal Secretary
mented approval by Vessel Scheduling Commit- Andrew Kamau and chief executive officers of
tee,” said OMAK chairman Abdi Salaad. the petroleum marketing companies.
The disputed cargo of petrol, which was EPRA on 14th of every month releases prices
imported in December 2021 by Gulf Energy of petrol, diesel and kerosene that prevail for
aboard MT. Jag Prearana and allowed to dis- the next 30 days. When international costs rise
charge at the port of Mombasa, led to delays with above the level Kenyans can afford, OMCs are
offloading fuel tankers that had been scheduled compensated using proceeds from the stabilisa-
for earlier emptying. tion fund kitty to cover the difference in prices
Refined petrol, diesel and dual-purpose ker- EPRA sets and the global cost.
osene are imported to Kenya under the central- “As per OTS agreement clause 14.3 (b),
ised open tender system (OTS) overseen by the demurrage caused by a vessel that is not deliv-
Petroleum Ministry. ering OTS cargo cannot be considered. The
A firm that has made the lowest bid under- importer of this cargo and the beneficiaries
takes importation of one product or all fuel should therefore be held responsible for result-
grades on behalf other marketers. The importer ant demurrage on the affected OTS cargoes,” said
is paid by other firms. Salaad.™

PIPELINES

Iran to build line to terminus

near Afghan, Turkmen borders

MIDDLE EAST THE National Iranian Oil Refining and Dis- The south-north pipeline would source
tribution Company (NIORDC) have signed 360,000 bpd of oil products from the Persian
a $425.1mn preliminary deal with privately Gulf Star Refinery on the Persian Gulf.
owned local lender Bank Mellat to finance the The new infrastructure would enable Mash-
construction of a 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) had to rely less on regional neighbours includ-
oil pipeline to supply the northeast of Iran, ing Turkmenistan for products including oil
SHANA reported on January 16. condensates.
The 948-kilometre pipeline, named Tabesh, “Without this pipeline, around 800 to 1,000
could feasibly lead to Turkmenistan and Afghan- tanker trucks would be needed to carry its prod-
istan becoming connected to Iran’s oil pipeline uct daily,” Iran’s petroleum minister Javad Owji
network if short interconnectors were put in told reporters.
place. Iran’s average daily export volume of petro-
It is expected that construction would take leum products to Afghanistan prior to the Tali-
four years. The pipeline would run through the ban takeover of the country in August last year
cities of Rafsanjan, Birjand and Torbat Heydari- stood at around 16,000-20,000 bpd.™
yeh to a terminus in Mashhad.

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 03 20•January•2022