Petroleum refinery management to host Coast MPs

By Philip Mwakio

Members of Parliament from Coast Province will voice their views on the oil refinery in Kipevu to its new management, following the entry of India’s Essar Group as a strategic partner in the venture.

Essar Group owns 50 per cent of the giant Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited (KPRL).

Essar Group is a diversified corporate with businesses in the manufacturing, service and telecommunication sectors. It also own the yu mobile phone service in Kenya, Yu.

Prior to clinching the stake in KPRL, Essar beat off stiff challenge from North Africa’s Oil Libya and India’s Reliance Group to secure the deal.

The Government holds the remaining 50 per cent stake in the refinery that has a refining capacity of 72,000 barrels a day.

Essar Group

Speaking to The Standard over the weekend, KPRL General Manager, Mr John Mruttu, said all stakeholders were entitled to information regarding the operations of the giant refinery.

"We are planning to engage local leadership in Coast, and in particular parliamentarians with a view to enable them raise concerns they might have and on the other hand offer Essar Group a chance to share vision and plans they have since their entry into KPRL,’’ Mruttu said.

The GM said that they had earmarked the forum to include legislators on the first week of September.

"By then, we expect to have part of the team from Essar to have come in .The first batch is expected by the end of this month,’’ Mruttu said. He said KPRL workers and their families would be briefed on the plans of the new entrant.

"Families and their spouses too have been sensitised on the huge investment by Essar.

They have been enlightened on the entry of Essar, what it means and what they should expect and the way forward," the GM said, on the sidelines of KPRL family fun day at the refinery complex.