EPRA summons 10 oil marketers over fuel hoarding

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has indicted 10 oil marketers in its ongoing crackdown on the hoarding of fuel stocks.

According to the energy sector regulator, other offences under the active probe that also involves the Ministry of Petroleum include the non-maintenance of minimum operation stocks as required by law and selling beyond the maximum retail price.

The 10 marketers, who were not immediately named, are under the regulator’s watch and have been issued with show cause letters.

“We have given them show cause letters to tell us why we shouldn’t take legal action against them which includes the suspension and cancellation of licenses,” said EPRA Director General Daniel Kiptoo.

“We are looking at different levers in terms of bringing some of these offenders to book.”

At the same time, EPRA has admitted that the extent of hoarding goes well beyond the scope of OMCs amidst widespread reports of unscrupulous traders purchasing fuel stocks in jerrycans following the shortage from authorized dealers to resell at more exorbitant rates.

EPRA expects the crackdown to over the course of time unmask all fuel sale illegalities seen during the near month-long fuel shortage crisis.

“Maybe further down the line, we will have taken stock of the extent of hoarding across the country,” said DG Kiptoo.

Earlier this week, EPRA got the nod from the Petroleum Ministry to pass on the first line of sanctions against culpable oil marketers.

This includes the reduction of capacity share for OMCs who raised export volumes at the expense of the domestic market and raising stocks for marketers with unchanged domestic sales stocks.

On Tuesday, EPRA said an analysis of daily petroleum holdings over the past month had revealed priority in export loadings by some OMCs which came at the expense of the domestic market.