21 September 2016, Nairobi – Petrol consumption in Kenya jumped 31.5 per cent in the first half of the year as motorists took advantage of lower pump prices to keep cars on the road.
Industry data shows that Kenya consumed 787.9 million litres of petrol in the year to June, up from 599 million litres in a similar period of last year.
“The increase means private cars are on the increase and fuel is still affordable,” said the Petroleum Institute of East Africa (PIEA) – the lobby for oil marketers.
Consumption of diesel, used to power trucks, buses, vans and factories was up 23 per cent in the review period to 1.2 billion litres from 972.6 million litres, according to PIEA data.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), which caps maximum retail prices of petrol and diesel, early this year made multiple cuts on pump prices in response to tanking global oil prices.
Petrol pump price stood at Sh92.88 in January 2015 before rising to Sh97.28 in June while diesel retailed at Sh83.35 at the start of the year and Sh83.31 in June.
This means lower pump prices were the main drivers of increased fuel consumption.
Cooking gas consumption jumped 83 per cent to 81,356 tonnes on lower crude prices.
Consumption of cooking gas is poised for further growth on lower prices following the removal of value added tax on the product in June..
- Daily Nation
