- Galana Energies Limited and Aramco are among marketing oil company claiming ownership of the 100,000 metric tons of diesel
- Anne Njeri Njoroge has maintained she owns the Ksh17 billion oil
The oil marketing sector is a lucrative industry that is worth billions of shillings. In Kenya, the industry is largely dominated by multinational companies. However, what might shock many is that these mega corporate companies are subject to one small company that is controlled by a coterie of powerful individuals.
Here is the full story as told by WoK.
Delta Petroleum and Galana Oil
Very little is known about Galana Energies Limited, but by far this company has been controlling the oil industry for the longest time. The company operates the Delta Petrol Stations and ironically, it was not among the top 10 petroleum dealers in 2021.
Delta is owned by Galana Oil which has been winning the Open Tender System (OTS) since 2004 as reported by Nation. The OTS is a procurement system in which individual companies bid to supply all the fuel consumed in the country for a period of one month.
All petroleum dealers in the country are expected to purchase the petroleum products from the winning bidder and then retail it to Kenyans in accordance with the prices regulated by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
For example, between April and May when the country suffered fuel shortage, Galana Energies imported 241,868 metric tonnes of super petrol, this was after winning the OTS bid.
A month after, the same company will import 102,072 metric tonnes of petrol and 16.052 metric tonnes of kerosene for consumption in September and all the other petroleum dealers will buy the two products from the Galana Oil.
Owners of Galana Oil
According to details available at the Business Registration Service, Galana Oil was registered on 7th June and is owned by three companies.
They include Tapiola Limited with 1,598 shares, Sai Ram Investment Company with 1,576 shares and Romichi Company with 1,576 shares.
However, the details of the owners and shareholders of both Sai Ram Investment Company and Tapiola Limited aren’t available in the portal and are listed as unverified. For Romichi Company, Businessman Joseph Gitau Mburu is the largest individual shareholder with 490 shares.
Rose Wamuyu Gitau, Wanjiku Gitau and Wairimu Gitau follow closely, each owning 170 shares. Other Galana Oil directors who have a stake in the company include Jonathan Ngige Kahira, George Ngige Kahura, Mary Waithera Kabiru, Sheetal Khanna and Isaac Mukui Nduru.
Other Companies controlling the oil sector
Apart from Galana Oil, Texas Energy and Riva Petroleum Dealers are also the heavyweights when it comes to winning the OTP.
For example, Texas Energy will import 85,124 metric tonnes of petrol in August as reported by Nation. These two companies attribute their ownership to be 100 percent Kenyan.
Texas Energy was established on November 20th 2014 and has been winning the OTP for over eight years.
Abdi Hakim Ebrahim, who serves as the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), is the majority shareholder with 22,092 shares.
Other key shareholders include Bomachoge Borabu constituency MP aspirant Nolfasson Obadiah Barongo with 12,098 shares, Nasro Dahir Ahmed with 9,468 shares and his brother Johar Dahir Ahmed with 8,942 shares.
On the other hand, Riva Petroleum dealers was incorporated on 21st June 1996 and is owned by the family of its founder Peter Njeru Njagi. Mr. Njagi and his wife Dorcas Waguthi own 80,000 shares each while their children Wangui and Wawira both own a collective 40,000 shares.
