More than a quarter of petroleum shipments under Kenya’s Government-to-Government (G-to-G) deal were sourced from hubs in India and Europe in the year to June 2026, amid disruptions that forced Gulf oil majors to seek alternative loading points outside the Middle East region following the US and Israel war against Iran.
Kenya inked the G-to-G deal with Aramco Trading Fujairah FZE (Aramco), Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Global Trading Ltd and Emirates National Oil Company (Singapore) Private Limited (ENOC) in March 2023 to import fuel on a credit period of 180 days.
For close to two years, supplies from Aramco, ADNOC and ENOC were mainly loaded from ports in the Arabian Gulf, but the US-Israel war with Iran forced a change in the logistics pattern to avoid attacks on vessels on the Strait of Hormuz, the vital maritime choke-point that connects Gulf waters and the wider Indian Ocean beyond.
Analysis of new data by the Energy and Regulatory Authority (Epra) shows that Kenya sourced 25.26 percent of its G-to-G products from hubs in India and Europe in the year to June.
In the period, Nairobi sourced 14.43 percent of its G-to-G fuel stocks, or 1,137,173.34 cubic metres, from India, 7.7 percent from Belgium and a further 3.13 percent from the Netherlands.
Petroleum products destined for Kenya were lifted from Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium, Sikka in India, and Jizan on the coast of the Red Sea-marking a shift from the past, where Kenya mainly relied on fuel loaded at ports in the Arabian Gulf.
Epra data shows Kenya imported 7,880,619.18 cubic metres of refined fuel for the local market in the year ended June 2026, with 62.6 percent of this sourced from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
‘Kenya imported 7,880,619.18 cubic metres through the G-to-G importation framework from various loading ports in the Middle East, India and Europe,’ Epra says.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia, which are Kenya’s traditional major sources of refined fuel, accounted for 31.85 percent and 30.7 percent of the total fuel imported in the year.
The Epra data shows that Oman and Kuwait are the other sources of fuel destined for Kenya, accounting for 9.26 percent and 2.98 percent of the 7,880,619.18 cubic metres that the country imported under G-to-G in the year under review.
But sourcing from these traditional bases was thrown into jeopardy after Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for attacks from the US and Israel that started in February this year.
The Sikka Port in Gujarat, India, Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium and Port of Amsterdam have since March last year become critical in Kenya’s efforts to ensure uninterrupted supply of fuel in the wake of the logistical nightmare caused by the Middle East war.
For example, in March this year a ship loaded with a consignment of petrol was unable to leave the port of Jebel Ali in the wake of the attacks along the Strait of Hormuz.
Kenya was then forced to import emergency stocks to avert a stockout, highlighting the nightmares that the Middle East conflict poses to Kenya and other fuel-importing economies.
Kenya’s reliance on India, Belgium and the Netherlands as alternative hubs is likely to be prolonged in the wake of the fresh flare-up of the conflict.
The conflict had eased in May this year after the US and Iran agreed to a 60-day ceasefire in June this year as part of wider efforts to de-escalate the conflict and allow re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
However, the two resumed attacks on each other last month, leading to the temporary closure of the East-West pipeline that Saudi Arabia relies on to export fuel following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Nearly 25 percent of the oil and liquefied natural gas for use globally passes through the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the critical role of the strait in supplying the critical commodity across the world.