National Oil to construct Sh42 billion jetty in Mombasa

State-run National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK) says it would build a $500 million (about Sh42b) oil jetty in the port city of Mombasa, to cushion consumers against fluctuating international crude prices.

NOCK said on Friday it would upgrade its infrastructure, including its oil storage facilities to reduce the time ships carrying crude oil have to wait and the additional costs incurred.

“If vessels come and the tide is low, they have to wait, and when they do, they attract demurrage fees of up to $25,000 per day per ship. In this case there is no option but to pass over the costs to the consumer at the pump,” NOCK managing director Sumayya Hassan Athmani said.

“The vessels coming have been carrying up to 80,000 metric tonnes of crude because we have only one jetty currently which is in a channel that is shallow, meaning that we don’t have the most efficient supply of fuel in the country.”

The new floating jetty will be able to accommodate ships of up to 120,000 metric tonnes of crude, she said. Construction is due to begin in July 2013 and expected to be completed two years later and will be funded through a public-private partnership, Athmani said.

— Reuters