Kenya Pipeline eyes regional market with Kisumu fuel jetty

Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) is set to commence construction of Kisumu oil jetty in March 2017 to facilitate safe transportation of petroleum product to neighboring companies.

The construction of the jetty is expected to take 6 months and will increase the state agency’s competitive edge in the region as the leading oil transporter.

Kenya Pipeline Managing Director Joe Sang said the Sinendet-Kisumu pipeline would ensure ample petroleum product volumes is available in the Western Kenya region and the export market.

Kenya Pipeline is eyeing increased sales to Uganda, Eastern DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, and Northern Tanzania.

“Construction of the jetty is now commercially feasible following completion of Line 6 which has increased product flow to Kisumu depot by 350,000 litres per hour from the previous 110,000 litres per hour,” Mr Sang.

The state agency on Wednesday invited companies to tender for construction of Kisumu oil jetty.

The additional petroleum product will also enhance optimization of tank utilization in Kisumu, which previously stood at 30 percent.

The annual demand for petroleum products in western Kenya is 1.1 billion litres whereas the regional demand stands at 3.3 billion litres.

Mr Sang said the new line will turn Kisumu into a focal point of oil and gas commerce in the region through safe transportation of fuel across the lake.

“The target market is around the lake and expanding the export market into Uganda and mines in northern Tanzania. The jetty will also create integrated marine fuel transportation in the region making it more efficient and commercially viable and reduce transportation costs for the oil marketing companies,” he said.

Kenya Pipeline is currently undertaking a number of large scale energy infrastructure projects aimed at tapping growth opportunities in the regional oil and gas sector.

The company is currently constructing the Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline replacement Project which is scheduled to be completed this year.

The firm is also establishing a new  loading facility in Eldoret and new tanks in Nairobi terminal which will ensure provision of sufficient capacity for receipt of higher volumes of products expected once the Mombasa- Nairobi pipeline is replaced.