Owners of three local oil companies awarded lucrative new Gov't tender unmasked

The first consignment of oil imports from the Gulf States under the new government-to-government deal arrives into the country on Thursday.

The new government policy has been met with cynicism by industry players. For starters, the government-to-government arrangement was structured to restrict participation to only State-owned national oil corporations of the Gulf states.

Three of these Gulf state companies won the tender to supply oil through three local companies that were unilaterally picked, locking out other oil marketers.

So, who are these local oil dealers that have been handpicked for the lucrative multi-billion oil business?

The three Arab firms that won the tender to supply Kenya with petrol, diesel and kerosene for nine months beginning April 2023 are; Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Saudi Aramco, and the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC).

Local companies handpicked to receive the oil include Gulf Energy Limited, Oryx Energies Kenya Limited, and Galana Oil Kenya Limited; these nominees will in turn supply the fuel to other local oil marketers.

Gulf Energy Limited was in December 2019 acquired by French multinational Rubis Energies.

A search with the Registrar of Companies however shows that Gulf Energy Limited has two directors; Francis Koome Njogu and Paul Kiprotich Limo.

Another shareholder in Gulf Energy Limited listed as Auron Energy was not found in records at the Registrar's office. The firm is listed as being in Mauritius.

Also nominated is Galana Oil Kenya Limited which has seven directors and three shareholder companies. The listed directors at Galana Oil share similar surnames, namely; George Ngige Kahira and Jonathan Kahira Ngige.

The three shareholder companies in Galana Oil Kenya Limited also showed duplication of names registered.

Tapiola Limited, a shareholder company in Galana Oil Kenya Limited, has the same directors; George Ngige Kahira and Isaac Mukui Nduru. Two other directors share surnames with directors at Galana Oil.

The same applies to Romichi Company Limited, another shareholder company of Galana Oil Kenya Limited. Joseph Gitau Mburu, a director at Galana, is listed here as a director, with the surname Gitau appearing another three times, namely; Wairimu Gitau, Wanjiku Gitau, and Rose Wamuyu Gitau.

Sairam Investments Company Limited, also a shareholder company of Galana Oil Kenya Limited, has two directors with similar names; Sheetal Rasendra Khanna and Reena Sheetal Khanna.

The third nominated oil firm, Oryx Energies Lenya Limited, has a Senegalese, French, Tanzanian and South African shareholding.

The first cargo of fuel from the arrangement will be used in the April - May pricing cycle. Oil marketing companies in the country say the nomination of the local licensed oil firms breached the open tender system where there is competitive bidding for the tender, with some moving to court.