Petroleum Cabinet Secretary John Munyes while conducting an inspection tour of the Kisumu oil jetty on September 19th 2018 after fuel adulteration crisis which was detected at the pipeline. [Photo: Collins Oduor, Standard]
The government says it's willing to offer Uganda technical support in the construction of an oil jetty in Jinja to speed up the commencement of oil shipping over Lake Victoria.
Delays by Uganda in completing the Jinja facility and another in Entebbe are standing in the way of Kenya Pipeline Company’s (KPC) improved marketing ambitions.
Although Uganda began construction of the jetty way before KPC broke ground for the one in Kisumu, it is still under construction.
Offer assistance
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The national oil transporter is seeking to increase its share of the regional petroleum market following the completion of a Sh1.7 billion Kisumu jetty.
Petroleum and Mining Cabinet Secretary John Munyes toured the Lake Victoria jetty at the Kisumu KPC depot and said Kenya was willing to offer assistance to its neighbour to push the launch of the flagship project.
“This jetty is a flagship project going to boost Kenya’s regional trade credentials. In two weeks, I will be visiting Uganda to assess how far they have gone in constructing their jetty so that we can begin commercial operations very soon,” he told reporters.
Mr Munyes was responding to questions on what options the government had in putting the project to use before Uganda finished its facilities.
“This project will not be a white elephant. It was well thought and will live up to its potential of ferrying at least 4.7 million litres of petroleum products at a go into the region. And we know this because we have been monitoring what our neighbours are up to,” he said.
The KPC jetty was handed over to the firm by the contractor in March and is awaiting commissioning. Its completion has seen the revival of a 750,000-litre tugboat that was drawn out of operation as maritime trade dwindled in the early 2000s.
The project is expected to help Kenya recapture the regional fuel market share it recently lost to Tanzania.
Construction began in April 2017 and the jetty is now expected to boost Kisumu’s throughput by a billion litres a year after completion of the first phase and by up to three billion litres by 2028.
According to KPC, the jetty will facilitate safe transportation of oil for various marketers over Lake Victoria to the neighbouring countries, eliminating up to 250 trucks from the road daily. This will reduce accidents, fuel fires and oil theft.
Reduce adulteration
The facility is expected to reduce fuel adulteration that has been rampant in western Kenya, according to Munyes.
In July this year, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) announced that the level of fuel adulteration had declined from 25 per cent to three per cent following a crackdown on cartels.
“In the recent past, my ministry has intensified the war against fuel adulteration in league with other government departments and with this jetty now in place, there is light at the end of the tunnel because it will remove hundreds of fuel trucks from our roads, especially those going into our neighbouring countries,” said Munyes.
The project has the potential to turn Kisumu into a focal point of oil and gas commerce in the region and one of the busiest inland ports in Africa.
