NAIROBI, August 5 – The National Oil Corporation (Nock) management is maintaining silence over speculation of a possible acquisition of more than 70 petrol stations operated by Caltex across the country.
Managing Director Mwendia Nyaga dodged the question when it was posed to him by journalists on Tuesday, only saying that he would give further details on the issue when necessary.
The government, through Nock, was said to be considering buying 72 stations held by America’s Chevron Corporation at a cost of Sh3 billion. The multinational is planning an exit from Africa, where its operations are spread over 10 African countries.
An acquisition would boost Nock’s operations in the country. Statistics from the Petroleum Institute of East Africa had placed Caltex market share at 13.04 percent.
Nyaga was speaking to reporters Tuesday morning when the company was awarded an ISO certification.
He revealed that the oil company would be listing on the Nairobi stock exchange in the next 3 years.
He observed that the Corporation had embarked on its new strategic plan that would see the corporation grow its market share to over 5 percent annually.
“We intend to be investing sh500 million annually for the next 5 years in a bid to grow our business sustainably,” he emphasized.
Nyaga said the certification would open up more avenues for business growth in the corporation. “ISO certification was a challenge that we first set for ourselves with the unveiling of our 2005-2008 Strategic Plan. We identified nine performance areas of the business and developed time frames, priority levels and budget provisions to guide our achievement in each area,” he said.
“ISO certification is expected to greatly improve National Oil’s efficiency; in reducing its operating costs and improving its service delivery to customers both internally and externally,” he added.
At the same time, Nyaga said efforts to access cheap markets for crude oil are still ongoing.
He, however, admits that the oil company has to increase its presence in the market if its mandate to stabilize fuel prices in the country is to succeed.
