Oil marketers raise concerns after National Oil’s 30% import proposal
Oil marketers raise concerns after a proposal to allocate National Oil 30% import, warning of supply pitfalls.
A section of oil marketers has raised concern that the Government’s proposal to allocate a 30 percent import quota to the National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK) will have an impact on the fuel supply chain market.
They warned that the proposal may precipitate unnecessary shortages in the country.
NOCK, the state-owned oil marketer, will be allowed to import up to a third of fuel products into the country, including diesel, petrol, kerosene, and cooking gas, according to the proposals contained in the Draft Petroleum (importation) quota allocations) regulations, 2022.
However, Total Supply and Planning Manager, Susan Gacheru, while presenting her submissions during a public and stakeholder consultations workshop on the regulations, expressed doubt about whether the state oil marketer has the capacity to meet demand.
She noted that the current importing requirements are no longer based on demand but on capacity.
Gacheru urged the Government to consider private facilities which can be connected to the Kenya Pipeline jetty in order to meet the capacity demand.
“The majority of OMCs import through the SOT and therefore the 30pc rule will impact the rest us as capacity would be constrained, the Government should consider how well we can make use of private facilities and how we can connect them to other capacities,” Gacheru said.
“Unless something is done in terms of restructuring NOCK in terms of human resources and infrastructure, I am not confident they can achieve the 30 percent, maybe they can start progressively, but they don’t have requisite resources, to go for that, unless financed by Treasury.
EPRA currently oversees the importation of petroleum products through the open tender system where the lowest bidder is granted rights to import on behalf of other marketing companies.
Also read,
National oil company to start importing 30% of fuel to avert fuel crisis in future- CS Juma
EPRA Punishes Oil Marketing Companies Over Fuel Shortage
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