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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 This effectively repealed the Energy Act No. 12 of 2006.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: 

  1. Petroleum Receipt and back-loading jetties: 

  • 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). 

  • Shimanzi Oil Terminal (SOT): This is used for importation of petroleum by small vessels. 

  • Mbaraki: This is a privately owned facility. 

  • 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. 

  • 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. 

  1. 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. 

 

  1. 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. 

 

  1. 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: 

 

  • Importers of Petroleum Products (Currently totalled at 94 licensees) 

 

  • Storage depots (Currently totalled at 27 licensees) 

 

  • LPG Storage and Filling Plants (Currently totalled at 65 licensees) 

 

  • Pipeline transportation (1 licensed pipeline transporter) 

 

  • Refineries (1 licensed refinery) 

 

  • Wholesalers and Exporters (Currently totalled at 832 licensees) 

 

  • Transporters (by road for LPG) (Currently totalled at 94 licensees) 

 

  • Retailers (Currently totalled at 42 licensees) 

 

  • Petroleum Tankers (Currently totalled at 798 licensees) 

 

  • Petroleum Drivers (Currently totalled at 432 licensees) 

 

  • 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 

 

Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority 
P:O: BOX 42681-00100 
Eagle Africa Centre 
Longonot Road, Upperhill 

State Department for Energy 

Kawi Complex, Off Red Cross Rd, Nairobi. 

 +254 (0) 20 4841000 

 info@energy.go.ke 

 

Kenya Pipeline Company 

Physical Address: Kenpipe Plaza, Sekondi Road, Off Nanyuki Road, Industrial Area, Nairobi 
Postal Address: P.O. Box 73442 – 00200, 
Telephone: 020 2606500 
Call Center Lines: 0709723006/4 
Safaricom: 0722207667, 0722207668, 0722207678, 0722207679, Email: info@kpc.co.ke  

Website: www.kpc.co.ke 

 

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/ 

 

 

 

image-20240102154743-1image-20240102154743-2 

 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. 

  • 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. 

  • The Mombasa refinery currently processes Murban and Arab Medium crude from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia 

  • 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. 

image-20240102154743-3

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.image-20240102154743-4 

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  

NO 

Name of Company 

Contacts 

Vivo Energy Kenya 
https://www.vivoenergy.com 

Vivo Energy Kenya 
Vienna Court, East Wing 
State House Crescent 
Off State House Avenue 
P.O Box 43561, 
00100 Nairobi 
Tel: +254 703025000 
Customer Service: +254 7030255 

Total Kenya Limited 
https://totalenergies.ke/ 

Email: customerservice@total.co.ke,  
Phone number: +254-20-289 7333 or +254719 027333, Mail Address: Total Kenya Limited, P.O. Box 30736-00100. 

Rubis Kenya Limited 
https://rubiskenya.com/ 

Avenue 5 Building 
Rose Avenue 
​Off Lenana Road 
​Kilimani 
E-mail: customercare@rubiskenya.com 
​Tel: 0706033264/0706033260 
P.O. Box 44202/30322 – 00100 

National Oil Corporation of Kenya 

KAWI house – South C, Popo Lane, Off Red Cross Road 
P.O Box 58567 0200 Nairobi, Kenya. 
Telephone: +254-20-695-2000 
Safaricom Line: +254-709-591000 
Cell phone: +254-734-333000, +254-722-203747 

Libya Oil Kenya (OLA) 

www.oilibya.co.ke 

Address: OiLibya Plaza Muthaiga Road Nairobi, 0620 Kenya; 
Website: www.oilibya.co.ke

 

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$) 

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 

image-20240102154743-5

 

Seasonal Variations  

 

Seasonal Variations 

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 

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 

Is there a national or regional standards authority? (Yes / No) 

  

Yes 

If yes, are the standards adequate/properly enforced? (Yes / No) 

 Yes 

Testing Laboratories 

Are there national testing laboratories? (Yes / No) 

 yes 

Fuel Quality Testing Laboratory  

Name SHELL BP Kenya LTD 

  

Address Shimanzi Oil Terminal Laboratory, P.O. Box 90250 – 80100, Mombasa, Kenya 

  

Telephone +254 041 249 5051    Fax +254 041 249 5054 

  

Contact Nicholas OCHIENG 

  

Standards Used 

  •  ASTM Aviation Fuel Methods 

  • IP Aviation Fuel Methods 

  • Jointly Operated Systems (AFQRJOS), MIL, MOD, GOST and other protocols, standards, and methods 

Fuel Quality Testing Laboratory  

Name Caltex Kenya Ltdimage-20240102154743-6 

 

  

Address 90431 – 80100, Mombasa, Kenya 

 

  

Telephone +254 041 249 4751                   Fax +254 041 249 4204 

 

  

Contact John MWANGI 

  

Standards Used 

  •  ASTM Aviation Fuel Methods 

  • IP Aviation Fuel Methods 

  • Jointly Operated Systems (AFQRJOS), MIL, MOD, GOST and other protocols, standards, and methods 

image-20240102154743-7 

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.

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