Kenya to step up monitoring of petroleum product quality

Kenya’s Energy Resource Commission (ERC) plans to hire a private company to elevate the monitoring of petroleum product quality in the country.

The firm will also ensure that products meant to be shipped to other countries are not diverted back to Kenya, the ERC said in a statement.

Last year, the ERC developed a program to continuously monitor of the quality of petroleum products being sold throughout the country.

From October 2013 to January 2014, a countrywide investigation was conducted by the ERC, the Kenya Revenue Authority, the Kenya Bureau of Standards and other government agencies to enforce of the Energy Act. During the investigation, tests showed that only 78% of the filling stations were compliant. The investigation also revealed that some outlets were offering adulterated products or products that were specifically intended for export.

The private firm to be hired by the ERC would monitor petroleum fuels across the country. Super petrol, diesel and kerosene destined for duty-free consumers and for export markets will be marked with a marker.