Fuel Overview
History of Petroleum Regulation in Kenya
The Petroleum Act CAP 116 was enacted in 1948 (with a major revision in 1972) and was the major law governing the petroleum sub-sector until 2006. The petroleum sub-sector was highly regulated with price controls for the main products. When the sector was liberalized in 1994, various challenges were experienced such as proliferation of substandard petroleum facilities and products. To address the challenge, Sessional Paper No. 4 of 2004 set pace for a new law to regulate petroleum sector, hence the Energy Act No. 12 which was enacted in 2006. This Act established the now defunct Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
On 22nd March 2019, the Energy Act No. 1 of 2019 and Petroleum Act No. 2 of 2019 were passed into law. This effectively repealed the Energy Act No. 12 of 2006. The new laws established the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority with an added mandate of regulating the upstream and midstream petroleum subsectors.
Infrastructure
Petroleum supply chain is supported by the following critical infrastructure:
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Petroleum Receipt and back-loading jetties:
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Kipevu Oil Jetty (KOT): This is located at Kipevu area, Mombasa County and handles large petroleum vessels. Product is then transferred to the government owned Kipevu Oil Storage Facility (KOSF).
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Shimanzi Oil Terminal (SOT): This is used for importation of petroleum by small vessels.
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Mbaraki: This is a privately owned facility.
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Africa Gas & Oil Limited (AGOL): This is a dedicated LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) facility built under concessionary terms from the Kenya Ports Authority. It is connected to a common user manifold. The only storage depot connected to it is the AGOL mainland facility.
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Kisumu Oil Jetty: This is located on the shores of Lake Victoria and is used for the exportation of petroleum products to the countries bordering the lake and into the Eastern DRC and South Sudan.
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Petroleum storage tanks: Kenya’s total storage capacity is over 1,500,000,000 litres spread out across the country. Over 700,000,000 litres of this are operated by the Kenya Pipeline Company as primary and intermediate storage.
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Petroleum pipelines: The pipeline system consists of trunk lines and distribution lines from Mombasa running through Nairobi to the Western Kenya towns of Nakuru, Eldoret and Kisumu totalling to about 1,804km.
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Retail networks: Kenya has over 2,762 retail stations. The stations are classified as Tier 1, 2, 3 and 4 depending on land area, services offered and storage capacity.
Licensees
Petroleum licensees are classified into the following categories:
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Importers of Petroleum Products (Currently totalled at 94 licensees)
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Storage depots (Currently totalled at 27 licensees)
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LPG Storage and Filling Plants (Currently totalled at 65 licensees)
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Pipeline transportation (1 licensed pipeline transporter)
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Refineries (1 licensed refinery)
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Wholesalers and Exporters (Currently totalled at 832 licensees)
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Transporters (by road for LPG) (Currently totalled at 94 licensees)
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Retailers (Currently totalled at 42 licensees)
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Petroleum Tankers (Currently totalled at 798 licensees)
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Petroleum Drivers (Currently totalled at 432 licensees)
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Storage of Crude Oil (There is only one licensed facility)
Some of the companies operate in all the above licensable activities. Observance of fair competition is regulated in liaison with the Competition Authority of Kenya.
Kenya Ministry of Energy Name: Peter Nduru Address: Nyayo House, Kenyatta Ave, P.O. Box 30582 – 00100, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 020 310 112 Fax: +254 020 240 910 Email: pnduru@energy.go.ke Website: www.energy.go.ke
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Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority |
State Department for Energy Kawi Complex, Off Red Cross Rd, Nairobi. +254 (0) 20 4841000
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Kenya Pipeline Company Physical Address: Kenpipe Plaza, Sekondi Road, Off Nanyuki Road, Industrial Area, Nairobi Website: www.kpc.co.ke
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Kenya Fuel Refineries Limited Address: Refinery Road, Changamwe, Mombasa, P. O. Box 90401 – 80100, Kenya Tel: +254 041 3433 511 Cell: +254 724 257 102 Fax: +254 041 3432 603 Email: refinery@kprl.co.ke Website: www.kprl.co.ke/
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The Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited is owned on a 50:50 equity holding between the government and India’s Essar Energy who acquired a 50% stake in September 2009 from Shell, BP & Chevron
The Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited, Kenya Pipeline Company Limited, National Oil Corporation of Kenya (www.nockenya.co.ke) and Rift Valley Railways represent the government’s presence in the petroleum industry.
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The domestic demand for various petroleum fuels on average stands at 2.5 million tonnes per year, all of it imported, either as crude oil for processing at the Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd or as refined petroleum products. The Kenya Petroleum Refinery at Mombasa has a current capacity of only 1.6 million tonnes per year.
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The Mombasa refinery currently processes Murban and Arab Medium crude from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia
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Processing heavier crude oil from Uganda would require additional spending on technology and equipment, but it would secure supplies closer to the refinery and reduce transportation cost.
Kenya Pipeline Company
The Kenya Pipeline Company Limited is a State Corporation established on 6th September 1973 under the Companies Act (CAP 486) of the Laws of Kenya and started commercial operations in 1978. The Company is 100% owned by the Government and complies with the provisions of the State Corporations Act (Cap 446) of 1986. The Company operations are also governed by relevant legislations and regulations such as the Finance Act, the Public Procurement Regulations, and Performance Contracting.
To achieve its mandate KPC operates multi-product pipelines currently transporting the following grades of petroleum products:
i) Automotive Gas Oil (AGO)
ii) Premium Motor Spirit (PMS)
iii) Illuminating Kerosene (IK)
iv) Jet A-1 (Aviation Turbine Fuel).
The pipeline system currently consists of a network of 1,792 km of pipelines running from Mombasa through Nairobi to the Western Kenya towns of Nakuru, Eldoret and Kisumu.
KPC has petroleum products storage facilities at its depots located in Nairobi and the major towns of Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret and Kisumu with a total capacity of 417,980m3. The Company manages and operates the 326,233m3 imports storage facility at Kipevu (KOSF) and another 143,014m3 under a lease arrangement with the Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited (KPRL).
To date, KPC has cost effectively, efficiently, and safely transported petroleum products through the pipeline, for consumption in Kenya and the neighbouring countries which include Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan and Northern Tanzania. The pipeline throughput has increased from 800m3 in 1978 to 8.1millionm3 in 2020/21.
KPC also runs a NEMA (National Environmental Management Authority) designated environmental laboratory for effluent water, soil and drinking water analyses.
KPC’s first Laboratory accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 was attained on 08th July 2016.
Top 5 Oil Distributing Companies in Kenya |
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Name of Company |
Contacts |
1 |
Vivo Energy Kenya |
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2 |
Email: customerservice@total.co.ke, |
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3 |
Avenue 5 Building |
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4 |
KAWI house – South C, Popo Lane, Off Red Cross Road |
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5 |
Libya Oil Kenya (OLA) |
Address: OiLibya Plaza Muthaiga Road Nairobi, 0620 Kenya; |
For more information on government and fuel provider contact details, please see the following links: 4.1 Government Contact List and 4.7 Fuel Providers Contact List.
Fuel Pricing
Fuel prices are controlled by Energy petroleum and Refinery authority (EPRA). The review of prices normally happens every mid-month. Various locations within the country will therefore have different fuel prices.
Fuel Prices as of: August 2023 (local currency and US$) |
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Petrol (per litre) |
1.393 USD |
Diesel (per litre) |
1.114 USD |
Paraffin (per litre) |
1.286 USD |
Jet A1 (per litre) |
0.859 |
Retail Petroleum Prices - Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (epra.go.ke)
Fuel Prices in (Kenya Shillings) in various towns across the country as of August 2023
Seasonal Variations
Seasonal Variations |
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Are there national priorities in the availability of fuel? (Yes / No) |
No |
Is there a rationing system? (Yes / No) |
No |
Is fuel to lower income/vulnerable groups subsidized? (Yes / No) |
No |
Can the local industry expand fuel supply to meet humanitarian needs? (Yes / No) |
Yes |
Is it possible for a humanitarian organization to directly contract a reputable supplier/distributor to provide its fuel needs? (Yes / No) |
Yes |
Fuel Transportation
Fuel distribution within Kenya is by truck and by pipeline from Mombasa to Nairobi and Eldoret
The railways do offer a service but due to the poor condition of the rail network this is not used as much.
Fuel distribution by road is well organised but fuel shortages do occur due to the fuel pipeline having insufficient capacity to meet demand.
Kenya Pipeline corporation is currently building a new, 20-inch pipeline to replace the existing line. The new pipeline would be able to carry 287,000 barrels per day by 2023.
Standards, Quality and Testing
Even though authorities are implementing quality surveillance system, second treatment of fuel is advised.
Industry Control Measures |
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Tanks with adequate protection against water mixing with the fuel. (Yes / No) |
Yes |
Filters in the system, monitors where fuel is loaded into aircraft. (Yes / No) |
yes |
Adequate epoxy coating of tanks on trucks (Yes / No) |
Yes |
Presence of suitable firefighting equipment (Yes / No) |
Yes |
Standards Authority |
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Is there a national or regional standards authority? (Yes / No) |
Yes |
If yes, are the standards adequate/properly enforced? (Yes / No) |
Yes |
Testing Laboratories |
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Are there national testing laboratories? (Yes / No) |
yes |
Fuel Quality Testing Laboratory |
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Name SHELL BP Kenya LTD |
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Address Shimanzi Oil Terminal Laboratory, P.O. Box 90250 – 80100, Mombasa, Kenya |
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Telephone +254 041 249 5051 Fax +254 041 249 5054 |
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Contact Nicholas OCHIENG |
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Standards Used
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Fuel Quality Testing Laboratory |
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Name Caltex Kenya Ltd
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Address 90431 – 80100, Mombasa, Kenya
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Telephone +254 041 249 4751 Fax +254 041 249 4204
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Contact John MWANGI |
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Standards Used
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Disclaimer: Inclusion of company information in the LCA does not imply any business relationship between the supplier and WFP / Logistics Cluster, and is used solely as a determinant of services, and capacities.
Please note: WFP / Logistics Cluster maintain complete impartiality and are not in a position to endorse, comment on any company's suitability as a reputable service provider.