Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Daily Nation
Published on 2024-02-05 09:57:11
The oil import saga involving Anns Import and Export Enterprises Ltd has taken a new turn as the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) has claimed that the fuel grade claimed to be imported is not accepted in Kenya. Court documents filed by KPC stated that the grade of diesel oil being alleged to be imported is not handled in the country. According to KPC, the only grades of fuel transported and stored are MSP “Petrol”, Automated Gas Oil “AGO”, Kerosene and Jet A-1 and the grade of Diesel EN590 alleged to be onboard the Motor Vessel “Hagui” is not accepted in Kenya.
KPC claims that it does not have any transport and storage agreement with Anns Import and Export Enterprises and that only licensed Oil Marketing Companies are authorized to transport and store fuel with the corporation. According to KPC, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum designated Galana Energies to deliver 85,700 MT of AGO KG22/2023 from ARAMCO TF on behalf of other Oil Marketing Companies.
The Motor Vessel “Hagui” was called to berth in Mombasa on November 4, 2023, and commenced discharging of the AGO KG22/2023 at KPV facilities six hours later. KPC said that the AGO KG22/2023 was released to the respective Oil Marketing Companies immediately after discharge and that KPC is merely a transport and storage company and has no intention of laying claim to the cargo onboard Motor Vessel “Hagui.”
The dispute over the ownership of the cargo is a contentious issue that saw Anns Import and Export Enterprises LTD sue Galana Energies, Kenya Ports Authority, and KPC last year. Justice Kizito Magare declined a bid to remove the case from the courts, as he believed that his court still had jurisdiction to handle certain issues in the dispute. Anns Import and Export Enterprises claimed that once the cargo was unloaded and the ship left the jurisdiction, the dispute became irrelevant and urged the court to bring it before a commercial court.
Galana Energies maintains that Anns Import and Export Enterprises is not authorized to deal with the importation and supply of petroleum products in Kenya. The company argues that the EN590 allegedly imported by the rival firm is not a product specified in the Kenya Bureau of Standards Import Specification for diesel for use in the country. According to Galana Energies, the claimant has failed to demonstrate the ownership of MT Haigui or that it is authorized to import refined petroleum products for sale in Kenya and the transit market.
Anns Import and Export Enterprises, however, continues to assert that the cargo is legitimate and was imported directly from Russia to the Kenyan market. The company’s director, Ms. Ann Njeri Njoroge, claims to have an account with LLC ALPHA-AAA YTBE)(AEHO MOSCO-RUSSIA, and that she has previously supplied the commodity indirectly to the country through distributors based in Dubai. This saga continues to evolve, with both parties presenting their positions before the courts, awaiting a resolution to the ownership claims.
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