Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd (KPRL) will start importing its own crude for processing beginning July this year. This is after the Mombasa based refinery was given a Ksh. 21.2 billion loan from Standard Chartered Plc. KPRL which has been refining petroleum products on behalf of marketers will now import its own crude, refine and sell refined products to marketers.

This development is expected to significantly lower the prices of fuel and Liquid Petroleum Gas . Initially, marketers were expected to refine at least 50% of  the products they need but now they will be allowed to import freely from foreign refineries which they have earlier said is cheaper than what KPRL was offering in refined products.

The refinery embarked on a capacity and performance upgrade last year with plans to expand the current 1.6 million cubic metres capacity to 4 million cubic metres by 2017. KPRL acquired a loan of Ksh. 1.14 billion from Barclays Bank of Kenya to facilitate the upgrades.

The upgrade is expected to reduce the cost of refining oil and increase the amount of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) produced locally. This would lead to low cost of living as the Kenyan economy is highly dependent on diesel for transport, power production, and agriculture while kerosene and gas (LPG) is used by many households for cooking.

Petroleum marketer Petrocity Enterprises Ltd is also set to build a new oil refinery in the country at Konza along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway to boost capacity and supply on the market, resulting to low prices of the essential commodity.