Counties’ pipeline network study to be completed in Feb
Mr Joe Sang, Kenya Pipeline Company managing director. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
KPC says that the studies by a private consultant will determine the towns to be covered and location of depots.
The feasibility studies on the plan to connect counties with pipeline is set to complete next month, pushing the country one step closer to removing long distance petroleum trucks from the roads.
The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) on Monday said that the studies by a private consultant will determine the towns to be covered and location of depots.
The decentralisation is expected to lower pump prices in far-flung regions, speed up fuel supply and remove trucks carrying inflammable product off the roads.
Petroleum prices vary across Kenya depending on the cost of transporting it from the Mombasa port where the imported consignments land and are stored.
Mombasa consumers, therefore, enjoy the lowest retail prices while their counterparts in Lokichoggio and Wajir, which rely on trucks, pay the highest rates on transport costs.
“The report serves as our reference for the devolution of the pipeline and will determine where the pipeline network goes and where to set up depots,” the KPC told Business Daily.
The company last April invited bids for feasibility studies for preliminary design and identification of viable depot locations in western region, South Nyanza, South Rift, Lower Eastern and Mount Kenya.
KPC company owns and operates 1,221 kilometres of pipeline network.
It has seven depots linked to its main pipeline network at the Nairobi terminal, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Mombasa International Airport, Kipevu, Nakuru, Kisumu and Eldoret with a combined capacity of 612.33 million litres.
Movement of fuel by trucks has been a safety hazard in the past, with some exploding during accidents. It also comes with high costs on the end-user.
For instance, consumers in Lokichoggio are paying Sh105.82 for a litre of petrol and Sh92.49 for diesel, which is higher than the prices in Nairobi (Sh96 for petrol and Sh84.23 for diesel) and Mombasa (Sh92.6 for petrol and Sh80.85 for diesel).
KPC in September 2015 said it plans to lease oil storage facilities from private investors in Nairobi and Mombasa to improve product distribution and supply.
The company said it targets to lease operational terminals in Nairobi and Mombasa with a capacity of 30 million litres and 100 million litres respectively.
Private firms such as Vivo, KenolKobil, Hashi, Petrocity, Gapco and Total Kenya have petroleum depots and terminals in Nairobi and Mombasa.
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