Kenya: Fuel Shortage Persists Ahead of Price Review

(file photo).

Nairobi — Fuel shortage in the country has continued to haunt motorists for almost two weeks as uncertainties persist on when supply will resume normalcy ahead of the monthly review this Thursday.

A spot check by Capital Business on Nairobi's major highways such as Thika Road, Mombasa road, and Ngong road revealed long queues as motorists sought to fill their pumps.

Shell Nyayo stadium for instance had a long queue Tuesday morning from 5.30am, while Total Energies Syokimau had a tail long queue Monday night.

"I had to wait to fill my tank this evening or else I wouldn't have had enough fuel to get me to work," said Julius, who lives on the route.

On Thika road, Shell petrol stations had long queues Tuesday morning similar to Rubis Ngong road.

Outside the Nairobi CBD, the situation is not different with a traveler who was in Kisumu over the weekend saying that the one dealer who had fuel put a cap at Sh1000.

"The dealer had a Sh1000 cap and if you wanted more eg Sh4000 you had to add Sh500, for the fuel," he said.

In Matuu, the situation wasn't different with only one petrol station operating.

Currently, diesel and petrol prices are at Sh115.60 and Sh134.72 for the month to April 15 respectively, according to the last monthly review by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).

The sharp rise in fuel prices in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war has triggered a rally in commodities like crude oil and crippled the subsidy scheme.

International oil prices declined during the week ending April 7, attributed to an inventory buildup and a planned release of oil from strategic reserves of International Energy Agency members, according to the CBK weekly bulletin.

Murban oil prices declined to USD 99.06 per barrel on April 7 compared to USD 108.99 per barrel on March 31.

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