Kenya: Pipeline Petroleum Report Ready
The results of a Kenya Pipeline Company study of petroleum consumption trends within the region are expected by the end of this month.
The company is positioning itself and plans to supply the Eastern and Central African region with petroleum products. The study, which is being undertaken by Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis (Kippra), also seeks to provide projections for demand for petroleum products in the region for up to the year 2027.
According to the company’s deputy managing director Mr Waithaka Kioni, the study will cost KPC Sh12.8 million.
The Kippra report will give the size for the proposed parallel Nairobi-Eldoret pipeline, which is being constructed to meet the increased demand for petroleum products in the region. Currently the pipeline consists of a combination of an 8-inch (Nairobi to Burnt Forest) and a 6-inch (Burnt Forest to Eldoret and Sinendet to Kisumu) pipeline with four pump stations. This infrastructure is not capable of meeting demand in western Kenya and the neighbouring region of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern DRC, Northern Tanzania and Southern Sudan.
The study will also cover any factors that may affect demand for petroleum products currently and in the future. KPC is the only pipeline system serving the region and has lately been under immense pressure to meet the rising demand for petroleum products transportation services.
The results of the study will also have a bearing on the development of the Eldoret to Kampala oil pipeline extension project expected to commence mid next year.
KPC, according to Mr Kioni, intends to open points of presence in countries within the region in the form of new pipelines or extensions of already existing ones and construction of oil storage and distribution depots.
