Kenya’s vibrant economy is home to over 60 oil marketers, all serving local consumption and, in extension, the East and Central Africa region.
Kenya is a key commercial and financial hub in East Africa thanks to its coastal location, with growing domestic energy needs and the ability to service those of its neighbours.
Whereas some of these companies are multi-nationals, quite a number are locally owned and, through astute leadership, continue to compete in what is considered a challenging though lucrative market.
In this article, WoK explores some of the largest oil marketers in Kenya and their ownership.
- Rubis Energy Kenya
Rubis is the leading petroleum company in Kenya following its acquisition of Kenol Kobil in 2019 in a Ksh36 billion takeover.
Rubis Energy Kenya is 100% owned by Rubis Energie following the full acquisition of both KenolKobil and Gulf Energy Holdings in 2019. Rubis Energie is a subsidiary of the Rubis Group which is listed at the Paris Stock Exchange.
The company is owned by a number of shareholders, both international and local.
According to the company website, as of 2020, 85.74 per cent of Rubis was owned by investors in a free float, Supervisory board (0.13 %) General Partner managers (2.21%), Marcel Dessault (5.45%), Wellington Management Group LLP (5.08%), Rubis Avenir mutual fund (1.32%), and Treasury shares (0.06%).
According to Market Screener, Marcel Dessault has since increased its ownership in the company, reducing the free-float ownership.
2. Total Energies Kenya
TotalEnergies Marketing Kenya is part of TotalEnergies, a broad energy company that produces and markets energies on a global scale: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity.
Active in more than 130 countries, Total Energies is one of the largest oil marketers in the world.
TotalEnergies Marketing Kenya PLC has been operating since 1955 and plays a key role in the Kenyan economy. The Company has a widespread infrastructure for efficient and effective supply of quality products and services.
3. VIvo Energy
Vivo Energy Kenya was established in November 2012, following the acquisition of Kenya’s downstream business from Shell.
Vivo Energy Kenya is a market leader and serves all market segments from retail to commercial customers with a full range of automotive fuels, lubricants, aviation fuels, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and black fuels.
Vivo Energy Kenya operates an extensive retail network. The company has significant bulk oil storage terminals in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Nanyuki; aviation services at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Wilson Airport, Mombasa International Airport, and Malindi Airport; and a lubricating oil blending plant in Mombasa.
The company is also renowned for its high-impact Community Investment Programmes, aiming to create lasting social and economic benefits in the communities. In Kenya, the national languages are English and Swahili.
4. Ola Energy
Ola Energy is among the largest oil marketers in Kenya and the region, boasting presence in 17 African countries.
Over the years, OLA Energy has become a major player in Africa employing over 1,500 diverse employees, generating an estimate of 20,000 indirect jobs in the countries of operations and visited by up to 250,000 customers per day.
The company has over 1,200 service stations, 8 blending plants over 60 fuel terminals and presence in over 50 Airports across Africa, and continues to expand its reach in the African Continent.
Abozid Swalem is the Executive Chairman of OLA Energy Holdings Limited and OLA Holdings Limited.
5. Oryx Energies Kenya
Oryx Energies Kenya is an affiliate of Swiss-based Eryx Energies South Africa (Oesa) and is among the leading oil marketers in the country.
Oryx Energies has been in Kenya since 2004 (initially as Addax Kenya Ltd), starting as a trading affiliate before becoming an integral part of downstream activities in 2009 to provide seamless and reliable products and services to the market.
Today, Oryx Energies imports, exports and sells locally the full range of white liquid hydrocarbon products (gasoline, jet fuel, gas oils), and participates actively in the Kenyan Bulk Fuel Procurement process, known as the Open Tender System (OTS), coordinated by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. It is also present in the local high quality lubricants markets.
6. Gulf Energy
The green-themed Gulf Energy is among the top oil marketing companies in the East African region and has grown to expand into the aviation and power generation sectors.
Incorporated in May 2015, the company has steadily established itself and spread its wings in the region dominated by mega companies. The company has an 8 percent market share in the region, exporting their products to as far as Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The company has also established subsidiaries in the neighbouring countries, including Gulf Energy Zambia, Gulf Energy Rwanda, Gulf Energy Uganda, and Horizon Petroleum in Tanzania.
It commands a 30 percent market share in petroleum products supply in the region and plays a leading role in the region’s bulk oil supplies, particularly gasoline.
In December 2019, Rubis Energies acquired Gulf Energy Holdings at a total cost of Ksh16.4 billion. Suleiman Shabal, Francis Koome Njogu, Duncan Kingori Mukira, and Paul Kiprotich Limoh are some of the businessmen that made billions from the sale.
7. Be-Energy Petroleum
The company first entered the Kenyan market as Bakri Energy Ltd before it was rebranded to Be Energy.
A report by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) indicates that the company is the seventh largest oil retailer in Kenya and controls a market share of about 3.1 per cent.
According to Business Registration Service seen by Nation Newsplex, Odinga and his family own 2,801 shares (35 per cent) in Be Energy whereas the Bakri family owns 5,201 shares (65) through their company, International Energy World S.A.
The company exports petrol, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel, and oil lubricants to South Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
8. Pan African Petroleum
Pan African Petroleum is among the largest oil marketers in the country,, with an annual turnover reported at over half a billion Kenya shillings.
According to The Citizen, Pan African Petroleum Company is owned by Raila Odinga Jr (25,000 shares), Rosemary Adhiambo Odinga (50,000 shares), Winnie Irmgard Odinga (25,000 shares), Elija Bonyo Oburu (125,000 shares), Wenwa Akinyi Oranga (25,000 shares) and Kango Enterprises (250,000 shares).
9. Hass Petroleum
Hass Petroleum is a privately owned Kenyan oil marketing company offering services such as fuel storage, automated fuel systems, and LPG piped gas systems.
The company was founded in 1996 by two brothers, the late Abdirizak Ali Hassan and Abdinasir Ali Hassan.
In 2017, OQ, formerly known as Oman Trading International (OTI), acquired a 40 per cent stake in Hass Petroleum.
OQ provided additional funding to enhance its market visibility through new distribution assets, specifically service stations, across its key markets in the region.
Hass used the funding for expansions, setting up depots, and competing in an open tender system to win bids to import oil into the country.
Hass Petroleum services include fuel storage, automated fuel systems, and LPG piped gas systems for residential flats and commercial properties.
The company has storage facilities in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, DR Congo, Somalia, Zambia, and South Sudan. The facilities are also available to customers and partner oil marketing companies for lease.
10. Riva Petroleum Dealers
Riva Petroleum Dealers is an established oil marketing company with operations in Kenya and Uganda. The company was registered on 21st June 1996 as a liability company and has grown from a small reseller to a widely-recognized brand in the region.
With its headquarters located at Mayfair Suites in Westlands Nairobi, the company operates a chain of over 25 retail petrol stations across the country under the brand name ‘RIVA.’
The company engages in import, distribution and transportation of crude oil, bitumen, LPG, Fuel oil, industrial diesel oil, automotive diesel, unleaded premium, unleaded regular, jet fuel and kerosene.
The company is currently the largest distributor of Shell lubricants in East Africa dominating the markets of Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. It participates in the Kenyan Open Tender System (OTS) coordinated by the Ministry of Energy and has depots situated in Nairobi, Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret.
According to an article published by Nation, Riva Petroleum Dealers is fully owned by the family of its founder, Peter Njeru Njagi. Mr. Njeru and his wife Dorcas Waguthi own 80,000 shares each while their children Wangui and Wawira own a collective 40,000 shares.
11. PetroKenya Oil
Petrokenya Oil Company Limited is a leading exporter, importer, and wholesaler of petroleum products and also a liquids logistics provider in the East African region.
It offers transportation and logistics services to all the major oil marketing companies across the region. The company has successfully established its operations in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to reports, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta’s uncle Paul Gatheca Muhoho controls 47 per cent of the company; 45% is owned by a United Arab Emirates-based company, while the remaining 8 per cent is owned by a former chairperson of the Kenya Youth Enterprise.
12. Tosha Petroleum Company
Tosha Petroleum Company was established in 2003 and started off as a reseller of petroleum products and services to the local and regional market.
It became a fully-fledged oil marketing company in 2010 after being licensed by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to import petroleum products to the local market. On August 25, 2014, the company rebranded to scale up its operation across the promising Eastern Africa market.
The company has grown to become a major oil marketer with a significant presence in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Currently, the company supplies over 120 million litres of petroleum products annually to the East African countries.
The company is owned by renowned Nairobi businessman Abdisarit Khalif Ali.
13. Hashi Energy
Hashi Energy Ltd is among the oldest oil marketing companies in East Africa having started as a kerosene distributor for Chevron Kenya.
The company was initially named Hashi Empex Limited but was later re-registered as Hashi Energy because of the vision of it’s founder Ahmed Hashi.
The company has operations in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Southern Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
