Kenyans are staring at yet another mega fuel shortage. This is after the government failed to pay oil marketers billions of cash in compensation under the fuel subsidy program.
The failure to pay oil marketers have disabled them from taking diesel fuel from the Kenya Pipeline Company system. This has in turn clogged up its pipelines and depots to an extent where it cannot move any products from the Kenyan coast to Nairobi and further to Western Kenya.
KPC Managing Director Macharia Irungu has warned that the failure by the oil marketers to pick up diesel could result in a shortage of petrol.
Viscount K’Owuor: This is what Luo community needs to change
Irungu said that oil marketers have been unable to pick up the diesel due to low cash after the government failed to pay them. Irungu said that the daily uplift of diesel by oil marketers had dropped 30 per cent.
“This has directly affected the timely delivery and replenishment of MSP (super petrol) and DPK (kerosene). The effects have been witnessed in Nairobi and Western Kenya depots which in some cases had to stock out of MSP and Jet fuel for between two to three days as we wait for AGO haulage creation to unlock receipt of the said grades,” said Irungu.
“Going by the low AGO (diesel) uplifts witnessed in Western Kenya, we are likely to stock out of MSP (super petrol) in Western Kenya from September 8, 2022, as its receipt is being hindered by the leading AGO batches.”
