Another emergency fuel cargo imported as airlines brace for higher fuel costs

Kenya has imported another emergency fuel cargo to avert a possible jet fuel shortage during the final week of August, according to documents from the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum.

The cargo was imported outside the Government-to-Government (G-to-G) arrangement, similar to the super petrol shipment brought into the country in late March that caused a controversy, leading to the arrest and resignation of senior energy sector officials and leaving some importers with significant losses.

The 30,000 metric tonnes of jet fuel that was discharged at the Port of Mombasa on August 20 will also be considerably expensive after importers charged a significantly higher premium at $185 (Sh24,000)  per metric tonne, which is double what is charged for G-to-G cargoes that have fixed premiums averaging at $90 (Sh11,700) per metric tonne.

The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, in a letter to the chief executives of oil marketing companies, explained that it had acted on advice from sector representatives after they met in early August and noted that the country was running low on jet fuel and there was a need for an urgent intervention.

“Following the industry meetings held on August 6 and 11, 2026 to deliberate on the emerging Jet A-1 supply concerns, which included increase uplift by airlines in July 2026 leading to an anticipated supply gap in August 2026, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum in conjunction with the G-to-G Jet A-1 nominated oil marketing company urgently engaged the international oil company (IOC) for an interim solution to bridge the supply gap and guarantee security of supply and business continuity,” said Kello Harsama, the principal secretary for Petroleum said in the letter.

The Ministry further explained that attempts to have one of the oil companies move up the delivery date of a jet fuel cargo that was scheduled for arrival in early September to sometime in August did not succeed. Instead, the oil company offered to reroute another of its cargo destined for Europe to Mombasa and offered to offload between 10,000 and 40,000 tonnes, which the government agreed to.

“The options explored included advancing the Jet A-1 KG08/2026 cargo, whose date range is September 1 - 3, 2026 or securing a medium-range cargo,” said the PS in the letter to oil marketers.

“The IOC indicated they would not be in a position to advance the Jet A-1 KG08/2026 cargo to arrive earlier than the designated date range but could secure cargo with volumes of between 10,000 and 40,000 tonnes from a consignment that had been loaded and was enroute to Europe.”

According to the Ministry, the IOC offered the 30,000 tonnes at a premium of $185 (Sh24,000) per tonne. Under the G-to-G arrangement, the premium for jet fuel is $97 (Sh12,600) per metric tonne. This sets up air operators to high fuel costs in the coming weeks.

A Ministry of Energy official said demand for jet fuel had increased, coinciding with the peak tourism season, adding that the government had also increased the order for cargo that was set to arrive between in early September to 80,000 tonnes from an earlier 60,000 tonnes to cope with this demand.

The importation of the jet fuel cargo outside G-to-G and at a relatively high premium mirror the scenario that unfolded in April this year, where the Ministry okayed the importation of 60,000 tonnes of super petrol after a meeting of top industry officials drawn from both the public and private sector who raised concerns about super petrol stocks and advised the Ministry to import an emergency cargo to bridge what would have been a major outage in April.

The importation of the cargo, however, spiraled into a crisis after the fuel was discharged into the country, with the Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi and the Head of Public Service Felix Koskei claiming that senior officials at the Energy and Petroleum Ministry had manipulated data to justify the import. This even as they insisted that the country had adequate stocks of super petrol and did not need the emergency cargo. The fuel was also found to be substandard.

The officials, former PS Mohamed Liban, former managing director at KPC Joe Sand and former director general Epra Daniel Kiptoo, were arrested and later resigned from their jobs. Investigating agencies are still looking into the three officials and have yet to be charged in court.

The Ministry of Energy later directed One Petroleum, the firm that had imported the cargo after winning a bid process overseen by the Ministry, to withdraw the cargo from the Kenyan market.

A report by the Senate Committee on Energy recommended coming up with mechanisms that guide the emergency importation of fuel consignments. The Committee, which had probed the local petroleum sector following the crisis in April, noted that the Ministry had failed to put in place adequate mechanisms to guide the importation of fuel in cases of emergencies.

It recommended “a comprehensive reform agenda centred on the establishment of a statutory emergency petroleum procurement framework”.

“The Ministry should establish a clear emergency procurement and strategic reserve framework that ensures accountability, value for money, and maintains trust with credible suppliers,” said the Committee.