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{
"id": 226090,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/226090/?format=api",
"text_counter": 216,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Murungi",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Energy",
"speaker": {
"id": 93,
"legal_name": "Kiraitu Murungi",
"slug": "kiraitu-murungi"
},
"content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, on 11th April, 2007, the Member for Keiyo North, Mr. Chepkitony, requested a Ministerial Statement from me on the current countrywide shortage of petroleum products, particularly diesel and petrol. He specifically wanted to know the causes of the shortages and the intervention measures the Government is taking to alleviate the shortage of both diesel and petrol in the short-term and the long-term. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is true that Kenya and the neighbouring countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been experiencing an unprecedented challenge of petroleum product shortages, especially diesel and, to a lesser extent, petrol, since the third week of March, 2007. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to inform this House and, indeed, the entire country that we have adequate stocks of both diesel and petrol at our Kipevu Oil Storage Facility in Mombasa, which is owned by the Government. The causes of the current shortages are as follows:- First, there has been a very sharp rise in the demand for petroleum products in the region, as a result of rapid economic growth. The demand for petroleum products in the domestic market has also risen by 14 per cent every year, from 237 million tonnes in 2004 to 306 million tonnes in 2006. That demand has further risen sharply because of the unexpected demand for diesel in Uganda, where it is required for generating electricity on emergency basis because of a drop in the levels of the River Nile. That rapid growth in demand for petroleum products has not been matched by rapid expansion of our product transport capacity. Therefore, the immediate cause of the shortage is the inadequate petroleum product transport infrastructure. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have a limited product transfer capability from both the Kipevu Oil Storage Facility and the oil refinery to Shimanzi Oil Storage Facility from where road tankers and the railways lift the product for both Coast and upcountry consumption. The pipeline is severely constrained. Having been built in 1977, it is now operating efficiently at its maximum capacity of 440,000 litres per hour. The pipeline cannot pump more products than it is pumping now without further expansion. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the railway system has not been able to provide adequate facilities for evacuation of the product from Mombasa in tandem with the rise in that demand. Further, transfer by road tankers has also been slow because it has taken time to transfer adequate stocks from the April 17, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 653 Kipevu Oil Storage Facility to Shimanzi. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Government is taking the following short-term measures to alleviate that situation. First, we held a meeting on 13th April in which, all marketing companies agreed to import petroleum products through the Shimanzi Oil Storage Facility. Secondly, the Ministry has requested all oil marketing companies to make more road tankers available to lift products to upcountry and export destinations. Thirdly, the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) is constructing a pipeline, within four months, connecting Kipevu Oil Storage Facility to Shimanzi to increase the volume of products available for lifting by road and railway. Fourthly, we are making a review of the technical integrity of a 12-inch pipeline belonging to Total Kenya, which connects the oil refinery and Shimanzi. When that is done, more products will be pumped from the refinery to the Shimanzi Oil Storage Facility for uplifting by tankers and the railway. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Government is also taking the following long term measures. First, the KPC is expediting the construction of additional pump stations along the Mombasa - Nairobi Pipeline, which will double the product evacuation from the capacity of 440,000 litres per hour to 880,000 litres per hour by April, 2008. Secondly, KPC will construct a parallel 10 inch pipeline from Nairobi to Eldoret to compliment the capacity of the existing pipeline by October, 2008. Lastly, KPC will construct additional product storage tanks at Kipevu Oil Storage Facility by December, 2008. Thank you."
}