First Oil Tanker Carrying Rwanda Petroleum Docks in Mombasa The maiden shipment of Rwanda's petroleum cargo under the new government- to government energy supply framework arrived at the port of Mombasa. The shipment arrived aboard MT Sea Wolf which docked at the new Kipevu Oil Terminal carrying 40,000 metric tons of Gasoline and Gasoil.
Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum Hon. Opiyo Wandayi and Rwanda's Minister of State in the Ministry of Infrastructure Hon. Armand Zingiro, jointly flagged off the consignment in a colourful ceremony at the port. Hon.Wandayi described the arrival of the cargo as a demonstration of Kenya's growing role as the region's logistics and energy gateway in East African Community and expression of the deeper economic integration the country is building with its neighbours, in line with the objectives of the EAC and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“This new framework is projected to grow tenfold the volume of petroleum products moving through the Northern Corridor to Rwanda, over the coming years. This he added denotes a vote of confidence, not just in a pipeline or the port, but in Kenya as a nation.” he remarked Hon.
Armand Zingiro Rwanda's Minister of State in the Ministry of Infrastructure said that his country is diversifying their import routes and collaborating with regional partners and the G-to-G framework with Kenya is the practical expression of that strategy, whose aim is to strengthen Rwanda energy security.
“This framework also supports our national effort to build strategic fuel reserves. Rwanda's own storage capacity is being expanded, and the extended storage terms Kenya has offered us here at Kipevu give us further flexibility while that capacity comes on stream”.
This new framework will see the Port of Mombasa handle three oil tankers with Rwanda petroleum products per month. KPA Managing Director Captain William Ruto affirmed that the Port was fully prepared to efficiently handle Rwanda bound petroleum cargo saying that KPA has invested massively in the infrastructure to support port operations and guarantee faster turnaround times for vessels.
The new Kipevu Oil Terminal can handle three tankers with a 170,000 Deadweight tonnage simultaneously ensuring that oil tankers can discharge efficiently and in record time minimising cases of delays and demurrage charges. In a beautiful coincidence the KOT had three oil tankers with one discharging petroleum product for the local market, one for