Kenol Injects $1 Million in Refurbishment of Stations

The Kenol/Kobil Group is set to spend $1 million to refurbish all their petrol stations in the country, after the giant oil company took over the Shell operations in Rwanda in February this year.

According to a release signed by Edwin M. Kinyua, the Head of Group Corporate Affairs, the development comes in the wake of Kenol/Kobil Group acquiring all assets including Shell Service Stations and a Fuel Terminal under long term lease from the government.

Subsequently, the release adds, Group Management Team held a four-day Annual Retreat in Kigali at the Hotel Intercontinental to plan future investment strategies and the ever challenging and changing business environment for the petroleum industry after crude prices in the international market hit the highest in July, this year.

According to the release, the team led by the Kenol/Kobil Chairman and Group Managing Director, Mr. J.I. Segman, also paid courtesy calls on Prime Minister Bernard Makuza and the Minister of State in Charge of Industry and Investment Promotion, Vincent Karega, and thanked the government for the support rendered to the company since the Kobil Rwanda subsidiary was started in 2002.

The release further indicates that Segman informed the Premier about the company's commitment to build an LPG Plant in Kigali and plans to make Rwanda the hub for their Great Lakes Region operations.

He further appealed to the government to remove taxes on LPG and accessories, in order to make LPG affordable and subsequently increase its usage, a precursor, he said, to efforts in reducing forest destruction through charcoal and wood fuel usage.

In response Makuza thanked Kenol/Kobil Group for investing in Rwanda and assured the Group of the necessary assistance.

He also noted that since Kobil Rwanda took over the management of the fuel terminal in Kigali, there has never been a fuel shortage in the country, and challenged the company to bring the high standards of forecourt service found in Kenyan Service stations. He also added that Rwanda was eagerly waiting to be admitted into the East African Community before the end of the year.

Earlier, the release indicates, Minister Karega had commended the Group for supporting the recent launch in Kigali of the Kenya Rwanda Business Association. He also commended Kobil Rwanda for being recognised in May, 2006 as the biggest tax payer in the Petroleum industry in the country.

In the release, Kinyua said the team that visited and laid wreaths at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Site and also pledged on behalf of the Group, to donate cash to the memorial centre as part of its corporate social responsibility.

Kenol/Kobil Group, which caters for 70 per cent of the Rwanda fuel requirements, carries out operations in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia and Ethiopia.

It also has trading business in several African countries including Burundi, Namibia, DRC, Malawi, Zimbabwe and the Sudan.