Following a three-week long fuel shortage that has hit most parts of the country, Garissa Township Member of Parliament, Aden Duale, sought an explanation from the government on mitigation measures put in place to address the crisis.
Consequently, on Wednesday, April 14, the Ministry of Energy tabled a report in Parliament on the distribution of petrol stations in the country, with the total number standing at 4,270.
The report was tabled by Energy Committee Vice Chairperson, Gladwell Jesire.
From the report, Nairobi has the highest number of petrol stations in the country at 324, followed by Nakuru which has 230, and Kiambu with 208 filling stations.
On the other hand, a majority of counties in the Northern Frontier District have the least number of stations. Mandera County has the least number of petrol stations at only 11.
Mombasa County has 138 stations while Kisumu County has 107.
The report also indicated that there are 106 companies in the country that are licensed to distribute petroleum products to the over 4,000 stations.
The government also noted that the procurement of petroleum products is done through an open tendering process.
"Petroleum products imported into the country are procured through the Open Tender System (OTS) which allows for equitable sharing of the common user facilities amongst the eligible oil marketing companies.
"There are currently 106 licensed Oil Marketing Companies (OMS) who participate in the OTS process as either buyers or sellers. All the OMCs are eligible to participate as sellers and supply petroleum products," Jesire stated.
At a past interview with Kenyans.co.ke, EPRA Director General, Daniel Kiptoo, noted that the shortage was persistent as some OMCs prioritised exporting fuel rather than distributing it to the local market.
"EPRA has analysed the daily petroleum loadings over the past four weeks and noted that a number of OMCs have in the period under review given priority to export loadings while the local market was left to suffer intermittent supply," he stated.
For the past few weeks, motorists across the have experienced long queues at petrol stations given the acute shortage in the country even as the government promised that the shortage would be addressed in the coming weeks.
Here is the distribution of petrol stations per county from the highest to the lowest;
1. Nairobi County - 324
2. Nakuru County- 230
3. Kiambu County - 208
4. Uasin Gishu - 181
5. Meru County - 173
6. Machakos County - 165
7. Kakamega County - 139
8. Mombasa County - 138
9. Bungoma County - 136
10. Kilifi County - 135
11. Kisii County - 122
12. Trans Nzoia - 119
13. Kajiado County - 117
14. Kirinyaga County - 112
15. Kisumu County - 107
16. Muranga County - 106
17. Homabay County - 96
18. Kitui County - 93
18. Kericho County - 92
20. Nandi County - 92
21. Migori County - 91
22. Siaya County - 91
23. Makueni County - 91
24. Bomet County - 90
25. Busia County - 84
26. Embu County - 81
27. Narok County - 81
28. Nyeri County - 75
29. Nyamira County - 69
30. Laikipia County - 67
31. Kwale County- 56
32. Tharaka Nithi County - 54
33. Nyandarua County - 53
34. Vihiga County - 52
35. Elgeyo Marakwet County - 49
36. Turkana County - 40
37. Baringo County - 40
38. Taita Taveta County - 39
39. West Pokot County - 35
40. Lamu County - 30
41. Tana River County - 21
42. Wajir County - 20
43. Marsabit County - 19
44. Samburu County - 17
45. Garissa County - 17
46. Isiolo County - 12
47. Mandera County -11
