How Kenya's tight petroleum testing process is breached

Despite what appears to be a strict regime to guarantee quality of petroleum products, there have been numerous instances where the quality of fuel has been found wanting. 

The process, which is largely manned by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) and the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra), starts when fuel is being loaded onto to ship tankers at the source markets to discharge at the Port of Mombasa.

Kebs contracted firms take samples and test them before okaying the loading and a similar process is undertaken when ships dock in Mombasa. 

The fuel inspection regime also requires Epra to ensure quality during transportation on road and pipeline as well as at petrol stations, where it takes random samples for testing and has penalised oil marketers found with substandard fuel.

The Kenya Pipeline Company has testing facilities and tests products on receipt but also before discharge to oil marketing companies.

Tight as it appears to be, the system continues to be tested by shipments that fail to meet the standards but also by rogue players in the local market dealing in dirty fuel. 

The arrest of the three petroleum sector bosses over the alleged importation of substandard fuel is the latest incident but not the only one.

Petroleum PS Liban Mohamed, Kenya Pipeline Company Managing Director Joe Sang and Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) CEO Daniel Kiptoo were arrested Thursday over claims of importation of substandard fuel. 

The allegations add to the list that include last year’s incident where Kebs blocked the discharge of a 12,000 metric tonnes of cooking gas into the local market, after tests showed that the gas did not have the foul-smelling additive – referred to as ethyl mercaptan – which enables users to easily detect leaks of the otherwise odourless LPG.

The importer later rectified the situation before being allowed to sell the gas in Kenya.  

In April 2020, a ship carrying 75 million litres of super petrol was turned away at the Port after tests by Kebs and KPC found that the fuel did not meet standards, specifically the boiling point exceeded the maximum of 200 degrees celsius set by Kebs. The firm that imported the cargo however, said the fuel met the standards and that its boiling point had been recorded at 199 degrees Celsius.  

Epra has, in numerous instances, intercepted adulterated fuel sold to unsuspecting Kenyans, but also tax evaders that divert products meant for export into the local market. 

The incidents, including the claims levelled on the three men who run the petroleum sector, are despite the scrutiny on petroleum products that include Pre Verification of Conformity at source markets but also guardrails at the Port of Mombasa as well as high tax regime on kerosene to prevent adulteration and fuel marking aimed at stopping fuel dumping. 

According to a manual developed by the Kenya Bureau of Standards on inspection of petroleum products, fuel is tested before leaving the port of origin and again when it is discharged in Mombasa. Kebs has contracted firms that undertake the inspection in both the source markets and also when it arrives in Kenya.

The manual requires Kebs to “enlist a panel of contracted surveyors with own testing facilities both at load port and Disport to carry out inspection of petroleum products destined to Kenya”. 

It also requires Kebs to ensure that “only petroleum products meeting the requirements of relevant Kenya Standards or approved specification are allowed into the country”. 

The firms contracted by Kebs are supposed to keep an eye on different aspects at both the source market and when the products arrive in Mombasa, including inspecting the vessels and tanks to ensure they meet requirements for transportation of petroleum products. 

The firms are also required to take a sample and analyse the petroleum products to determine their compliance to Kenya Standards as well as supervise the loading and discharge of the fuel while ensuring that steps are taken to avoid contamination. 

In Kenya, the products are only released to the oil marketing companies based on Kebs' okaying that the products meet the required standards.  

Once the fuel is discharged in Mombasa and is distributed to petrol stations, Epra is required by the Petroleum Act of 2019 to undertake continuous monitoring.  

The exercise, which is done through tracking random samples of fuel sold at petrol stations, is aimed at preventing adulteration or dumping of export-bound fuels into the local market.  

According to the Act, a person who stores, transports or offers for sale adulterated petroleum commits an offence and if convicted faces a fine of not less than five million shillings or a prison term of not less than two years or both. 

Fuel adulteration was a major concern in the past but has been driven to negligible levels in recent years. The major turning point was the introduction of the Anti-Adulteration Levy on Kerosene in 2018 at Sh18 per litre, which drove up the cost of the fuel to be in line with diesel at the time, disincentivising unscrupulous businesses and individuals who would add kerosene mostly to diesel to shore up volumes.

Epra, however, still reports instances where the practice is still going on and has severely penalised the rogue petroleum outlets and dealers.  

Epra has also recently put in place the Petroleum (Products Quality Management) regulations 2025 further aimed at guaranteeing quality of fuel consumed in Kenya as well as transiting to Uganda.  

According to the regulations, “refined petroleum products imported into Kenya, whether for local use or transit, comply with the specifications or code of practice set out in the Kenya Standard or any international standard approved by the Bureau (Kebs).”