The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) has posted a 20.9 per cent increase in its profit before tax for the financial year ended June 2023, driven by growth in revenues.
KPC Managing Director Joe Sang made the revelation on Friday as the company celebrated its 50th anniversary.
The firm made Sh7.5 billion in pre-tax profit, a growth of Sh1.3 billion from Sh6.2 billion it earned in the last financial year.
KPC, which now has an asset base of Sh129 billion, was established on September 6, 1973 and started commercial operations in 1978, transporting petroleum products from Mombasa to Nairobi.
“Fifty years ago, KPC was only tasked with transportation of petroleum products from Mombasa to Nairobi. Today, KPC runs numerous business ventures which have resulted in increased revenue,’ said Mr sang.
Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir lauded KPC’s growth, stating that its storage capacity of 887,227 cubic-meters of fuel has ensured the country has enough stock and therefore avoided shortages.
“Courtesy of KPC’s storage facilities, Kenya has an 18-days fuel reserve that buffers the country from fuel supply disruptions due to external factors or unforeseen emergencies,” said the CS.
Mr Chirchir added that KPC’s acquisition of the defunct Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited (KPRL) will significantly boost the utility’s storage capacity.
Acquisition of KPRL
The Cabinet in July approved the acquisition of KPRL by KPC. The facility, which was East Africa’s only oil refinery, is being utilised for fuel storage.
KPRL has 45 tanks with a total storage capacity of 484 million litres out of which 254 million litres is reserved for refined products while the remaining 233 million litres is reserved for crude oil.
“The merger of the two parastatals will foster synergy in the petroleum value chain, increase KPC’s storage capacity, enable execution of the planned capacity enhancement of the pipeline system and manage petroleum and petroleum products price hikes,” said Mr Chirchir.
Parallel pumping
Mr Sang said that the company rolled out parallel pumping for its Line V that runs from Mombasa to Nairobi and it has achieved a 37 per cent increase in the flow rate. KPC commissioned the line in 2018.
“For a long time, the constrained capacity of Line V inhibited service delivery. We upgraded the pumping mechanism to pump from two pumps instead of one. We now load seven additional trucks each hour through Line V,” said Mr Sang.
The company has also embarked on a revenue diversification plan, including provision of fibre optic cables services and storage and transportation of cooking gas across the country. It has also stepped up its community outreach activities.
Source: Nation Media Group
