Workers' union makes impassioned plea to President Uhuru Kenyatta over refinery, jobs

NAIROBI, KENYA: The giant Kenya Petroleum Oil Workers Union (KPOWU) has petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene and save the region’s sole oil refinery from closure.

Operations at the Kenya Petroleum Oil Refineries Limited (KPRL) ground to a halt last September after a series of abortive attempts to modernise and revive it.

Matters were made worse by the abrupt withdrawal by Essar Energy of India who had entered into a shareholding deal through its subsidiary, Essar Energy Overseas Limited, which acquired a 50 per cent stake in the 53 year old refinery.

The Government, which owns the remaining shares has indicated that it has completed negotiations with Essar Energy on the company’s planned exit from KPRL.

Energy Cabinet Secretary David Chirchir has indicated the Government is not planning to close down the Kenya Petroleum Refinery.

However, speaking to The Standard Thursday, KPOWU Coast Branch Secretary Raphael Olala said the Cabinet Secretary’s insistence was not enough to save the more than 300 permanent jobs at the refinery.

‘’The Jubilee Government under President Uhuru Kenya and Deputy President William Ruto has said is keen on job creation. It would be a backward move to allow this refinery to shut down completely,’’ he said.

Essar Energy bought the stake at Kenya Petroleum Oil Refineries Limited in July 2009 for $7 million (Sh532 million at the time) from BP, Chevron and the Royal Dutch Shell, leaving the 50 per cent with the Government.

It committed to undertake a $450 million (Sh39.8b) upgrade of the refinery before announcing plans to quit the partnership last year, saying the facility was not economically viable in the current environment.