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Kenya: State to Revert to Petrol Blending
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The Nation (Nairobi)
2 May 2008
Posted to the web 1 May 2008
Kennedy Senelwa
Nairobi
Blending of petrol with ethanol made from sugarcane will be reintroduced in Kenya. This is meant to cushion consumers from effects of escalating petroleum products prices.
Energy permanent secretary, Mr Patrick Nyoike, said the high cost of crude oil had made it attractive for Kenya to revert to blending of petrol with ethanol to reduce expenditure of foreign reserves on importation of fossil fuel.
He said the government will put in place rules for oil marketing companies to adhere to when blending.
High fuel cost
Speaking at the Safari Park hotel in Nairobi on Tuesday during a conference on biofuels organised by German Technical Co-operation, Mr Nyoike said the high fuel cost has contributed to rising inflation in Kenya.
He said blending was used as a substitute for petrol between 1983 and 1993. "This fuel was discontinued due to extremely high cost of ethanol relative to petrol which it was meant to displace. High prices of crude have made it attractive to consider introduction of blends of ethanol and petrol," he said.
Mr Nyoike said the ministry of Energy had developed a strategy for development of the bio-diesel industry by fast-tracking production of biofuel crops like Jatropha both for income and poverty reduction.
He said a mature Jatropha tree can yield 7 kilogrammes of seed annually, which in turn produces 1.75 litres of oil adding that one hectare of land planted with the crop can produce 4,735 litres per annum.
The PS said that at a farm price of Sh11.25 per kilogramme of seed, translating to Sh45 per litre of oil, a Jatropha farmer would earn Sh196,875 annually, which is much higher than most coffee farmers get.
Poverty eradication
He said 12.2 tons of seed cake would be obtained after oil extraction from 17.5 tons of seed per hectare and 12.2 tons of seed cake priced at Sh2,000 per ton can generate Sh24,400 for an oil processor.
Green Africa Foundation said development of the bio-diesel industry will help in poverty eradication with farmers growing Jatropha in rural areas and also enable the country earn money from carbon credits globally.
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Foundation chairman, Mr Isaac Kalua, said oil marketing firms have shown interest in supporting integration of biodiesel in mainstream petroleum products if standards are established and enforced.
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