The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority says Kenyan motorists must wait 30 to 45 days before recent declines in global oil prices appear at the pump. EPRA Petroleum and Gas Director Edward Kinyua attributed the lag to import processing and transport times.
Kinyua noted that international crude prices have begun falling after a Middle East crisis drove sharp increases earlier this year. Before the conflict, the Free on Board cost of super petrol stood at about 686 dollars per tonne and rose to 1,061 dollars per tonne at its peak in April. Diesel and kerosene recorded even larger spikes.
He explained that fuel ordered 30 days earlier is now arriving in Mombasa. The barrel must complete refining, ordering, loading, voyage and discharge before reaching local pumps, which creates the 30-to-45-day delay.
Kinyua also addressed the temporary rise in permitted sulphur content to 50 parts per million. Supply disruptions after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz forced Kenya to source fuel from Europe and India, where many suppliers still meet only the 50 ppm standard rather than the stricter 10 ppm limit adopted last August.