…as it strives to boost its Storage Facility, Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) ventures to upgrade Facilities

By Abdul Rahman Bangura–

Photo Credit: Oilprice

NEW AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS (NABN) Freetown, Sierra Leone – The state company has declared openly proposals from capable corporations to enable it boost the refinery for storage.

Experts assert, the refinery growth will considerably curtail the perennial inefficiencies that portray the nation’s petroleum products supply chain, arising in high prices at the pump. The high storage capacity at KPC is anticipated to save oil trading companies millions of shillings paid to shipping lines as demurrage charges. The update comes weeks after KPC finalized its accession of the defunct KPRL.

“KPRL invites sealed bids to carry out cleaning, painting and repair of LPG tanks 610 and 611 and vessels V601A and V601B at Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited, Changamwe, Mombasa,” KPRL said in the tender documents.

“(KPRL) invites sealed tenders to carry out works and maintenance services for Kipevu (Kot) Oil Terminal Jetty Booms inspection and maintenance services and works at KPRL Changamwe,” added KPRL.

According to Experts; significant interest will be desired to relate them to jetties at ports and modify crude containers to hold clean fuel. About 254 million liters are reserved for refined products while 233 million liters are for crude oil.

The refinery was hung out in September 2013 when Kenya opted to start importing processed oil. The refinery has been sitting idle since 2013 after plans for a Sh121 billion upgrade were abandoned. Therefore, the administration anaidand the enterprise was not economically attainable.

Andrew Kamau – Chief Oil Secretary previously announced that KPC’s accession of the refinery was one of the administration’s policies to assure a constant supply of petroleum products, not only in Kenya but also in other nations in Africa..

Kamau added that, the facility will become the region’s oil products feed hub to contend with Dar es Salaam, which has been overwhelming the market for years.

Essar Energy Overseas Ltd, which for seven years held a 50% stake in the refinery, pocketed $5 million (Sh568 million) from the National Treasury when it exited in 2016. Presently, the Government owns 100% of the refinery.

Established more than 50 years ago, the Changamwe-based KPRL has 45 tanks with a total storage capacity of 484 million litres. KPRL was positioned under KPC management in 2017 as a storage facility for imported crude oil after Indian investor Essar flunked to restore the nation’s only oil refinery.

For New Africa Business News (NABN) Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent