The State-owned corporation has advertised for bids from eligible transaction advisers to help it acquire the refinery from the National Treasury.
Even though there were no further details on how the acquisition will be carried out, the company stated that it expected to have received bids from possible advisers by Friday last week (February 11).
KPC has been eyeing to conclude the take-over of the troubled cash-strapped oil refinery which it has been overseeing for years now.
The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) is seeking a transaction adviser to help it conclude the takeover of the defunct Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited as it seeks to boost its storage capacity.
The State-owned corporation has advertised for bids from eligible transaction advisers to help it acquire the refinery from the National Treasury.
“Kenya Pipeline Company Limited intends to procure transaction advisory services for takeover of Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited (KPRL) under the single source selection method as per the Procurement and Asset Disposal Act,” KPC general manager in charge of supply Peter Mwangi said in a notice seen by Business Daily dated February 7.
Even though there were no further details on how the acquisition will be carried out, the company stated that it expected to have received bids from possible advisers by Friday last week (February 11).
The transaction adviser is expected to carry out due diligence on the assets and liabilities of KPRL. KPC has been eyeing to conclude the take-over of the troubled cash-strapped oil refinery which it has been overseeing for years now.
KPRL was placed under the management of KPC in 2017 as a storage facility for imported crude oil after Indian investor Essar failed to revive the country’s only oil refinery.
Essar Energy Overseas Ltd, which had for seven years held a 50 percent stake in the refinery, pocketed $5 million (Sh5685 million) from the National Treasury when it exited in 2016.
Currently, the Government owns the refinery 100 per cent.
Established more than 50 years ago, the Changamwe based KPRL has 45 tanks with a total storage capacity of 484 million litres.
Experts say it will take significant investment to connect them to jetties in ports and tweaking of crude containers to hold clean fuel.
About 254 million litres is reserved for refined products while 233 million litres is for crude oil.
The refinery became idle in September 2013 as Kenya opted to start importing processed oil.
The refinery has remained inactive since 2013, after plans for a Sh121 billion upgrade of the facilities were abandoned. Then the government said the investment was not economically viable.
On the day Essar relinquished its stake, Treasury said there was a committee reviewing the refinery operations in order to come up with options.
Essar Energy became a shareholder in KPRL in July 2009 through acquisition of shares from Shell Petroleum Company Limited, BP plc and Chevron Global Energy Inc.
