NAIROBI | Kenya is set to receive its first batch of fuel on a 180-day credit period from Oryx Energies, Galana Oil, and Gulf Energy under a government-backed deal with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The three firms were chosen by Saudi Aramco, Emirates National Oil Corporation (Enoc), and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation Global Trading (Adnoc) to ease the forex crisis in Kenya’s foreign exchange market, which is exacerbated by oil shipments accounting for 28% of the country’s monthly imports.
The deal is expected to help prop up the battered shilling and ease pressure on forex demand.
Gulf Energy will be importing two cargoes of diesel, three consignments of super, and one shipment of jet fuel every month, with a monthly import of between 250,000 tonnes and 350,000 tonnes.
Galana Oil and Oryx Energies will each ship two cargoes of diesel for nine months, with diesel cargoes of between 160,000 to 180,000 tonnes every month.
Adnoc picked Gulf Energy to supply diesel and jet fuel, while Enoc picked Galana Oil to import super and Saudi Aramco picked Oryx Energies and Galana.
The fuel will be paid for in Kenyan shillings, and the first payment to Enoc, Adnoc, and Saudi Aramco will be made in September. This move will ensure the dollar is available for other sectors of the economy, according to Energy Cabinet Secretary Davies Chirchir.
The first shipments of fuel are expected to arrive at the Port of Mombasa between April 8th and 12th, two days before the monthly pump prices review for the period to May 14th.
Kenyans are grappling with high inflation, which rose to 9.2% last month, with pump prices being the key determinants of the country’s inflation rate.
