Shell imports low-sulphur diesel for marketers as new EAC rule kicks in
Mr Polycarp Igathe, Vivo Energy Kenya managing director. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Shell has ordered 65,000 metric tonnes of low-sulphur diesel through the Open Tender System through which Kenyan oil marketers buy bulk supplies of fuel under the co-ordination of the Energy Regulatory Commission.
The consignment is expected in the country by end of this week.
The requirement to import low-sulphur diesel arises from a treaty signed two years ago by East African Community (EAC) member states that became effective this month.
Oil marketer Vivo Energy, which trades in Kenya under the Shell brand name, has imported the first consignment of low-sulphur diesel that has less pollutants but is expected to cost motorists more at the pump.
The requirement to import low-sulphur diesel arises from a treaty signed two years ago by East African Community (EAC) member states that became effective this month.
Shell has ordered 65,000 metric tonnes through the Open Tender System through which Kenyan oil marketers buy bulk supplies of fuel under the co-ordination of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
“The fuel will have a slight premium since this is a higher quality fuel. However the impact of this additional cost will not register materially on our local pump prices,” said the Vivo Energy Kenya managing director Polycarp Igathe in an interview.
The consignment is expected in the country by end of this week.
The EAC in December 2013 gazetted laws requiring all importers in the region to, beginning this year, procure diesel whose sulphur content is 50 parts per million (ppm) down from the 500ppm that has been in place for over a decade.
The new sulphur content ceiling for importers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi petrol is 150ppm.
High-sulphur content has been blamed for poor performance of diesel vehicles — as it reduces their efficiency— and has also been linked to increased cases of lung cancer and other respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
A study by the World Bank shows that a switch to low-sulphur diesel would result in annual savings in health costs of about $6 billion in sub-Saharan Africa.
Fuel that Kenyans consumed from the now defunct Mombasa refinery diesel had 10,000ppm but this reduced to 500pm once oil marketers began importing refined product through the OTS.
Mr Igathe now says that the further reduction of sulphur to 50ppm in diesel will not only reduce diseases resulting from air pollution but also result in savings by motorists.
“The real benefit for motorists using low-sulphur fuel is that they will now spend substantially less on servicing their vehicles and changing parts like diesel particulate filters,” he said.
“The environmental benefit is more important as Kenyans will now be breathing cleaner air, resulting in fewer incidences of diseases and complications brought about by air pollution.”
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