Oil marketer Rubis Energy Kenya is currently looking at the options to stop the deportation of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jean-Christian Bergeron, after the government, through the State Department of Immigration, revoked Bergeron’s work permit and asked him to leave the country immediately.
The move was a knee-jack reaction by the government to clamp down on oil marketers over what they call economic sabotage by creating an artificial fuel shortage.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) yesterday indicated that oil marketers prioritised fuel exports to neighbouring countries over selling fuel locally.
Thus, the current shortage has rocked the country over the last three weeks.
Information obtained by The Informer revealed Rubis is currently engaging with the Interior and Foreign ministries to relook at Bergeron’s deportation.
Currently, Rubis controls 8.6 percent of the local market, Epra; over the past few weeks has been deliberate that the country has enough fuel.
Petroleum Principal Secretary Andrew Kamau and the Kenya Pipeline Company management affirmed that the country had enough oil stocks, attributing the crisis to an artificially engineered scheme.
Kamau said the government would take stern action against any oil dealer found hoarding the precious commodity.
The PS said that once investigations into the shortage are finalised, the regulator will penalise and withdraw licenses to the masterminds.
“This is an artificial shortage,” Kamau said. “We are aware of the hoarding issue, and we are dealing with it. You (marketers) can lose a license, but we do not want to go there for now.”
The shortage has crippled some transport firms and opened an avenue for some dealers to raise prices above the caps set by the Epra, with a litre of petrol retailing at Sh200 or more in some parts of Kenya.
