(Victoria Rubadiri) The matter of contaminated fuel was raised in Parliament again today Juja MP William Kabogo complained that his car had to be towed to the garage because he got stuck just minutes after refueling his vehicle.
“Yesterday (Tuesday) after fueling somewhere in Nairobi I got stuck and the car is in the garage and it is due to contaminated fuel. Who is going to be responsible for the cost of repairs and change of engines? We know it is an open secret that there is contaminated fuel on sale,” he said.
Assistant Minister for Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Mahamud promised to investigate the matter, while at the same time refuting allegations that there was contaminated fuel in the market.
Mahamud said that a batch of fuel received by the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) exceeded the allowable temperature standards and hence needed to be returned. He said that it was a situation which had occurred several times in the past.
“The temperatures were 207 degrees Celsius which was too close to the standard limit of 210. That’s why we asked them (Gulf Africa Petroleum Corporation) to take it back. The product was not contaminated but slightly higher in temperature,” he clarified.
KPC requires that Super petrol must be up to 205 degrees Celsius, with an upper limit of 210 degrees.
In the event the firm is unable to manage the batch, contract agreements require it to be returned to the importer.
KPC received 76,213,309 litres of petrol from oil importer Gulf Africa Petroleum Corporation (GAPCO) in April that contained 600,000 liters of mixed Super petrol and diesel fuel.
In a press briefing last week KPC Managing Director Selest Kilinda said the 600,000 liters was rejected by the company, because it was in excess and needed to be returned to GAPCO.
