The company is gearing to set up a gas plant and storage facilities at Dongo Kundu near the Port of Mombasa to supply LPG for domestic, commercial and industrial use.
In what is seen to have come with the regime change in Kenya, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has given the company, owned by Tanzanian tycoon Rostam Aziz, a green light to proceed with the project.
The energy sector regulator had mid-this year declined to clear the application by Taifa Gas citing environmental risks posed by the 30,000-tonne gas handling facility.
According to EPRA, the firm’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) had gaps that required correction, before the application would be considered.
However, the decision was seen as a move to protect locally owned businesses, which have political backing.
EPRA has confirmed to the Star, that Taifa Gas has finally received an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) license.
"Taifa Gas has received an ESIA licence. The company is expected to submit an application for a construction permit to EPRA,” the regulator told the Star.
This means the company could be clearing ground as early as next year, with its entry into the Kenyan market expected to cause a major disruption in the fast-growing and lucrative cooking gas supply chain that is dominated by a few firms.
Multi-nationals among them Total, Rubis and Vivo currently dominate the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market.
Proto Energy owned by billionaire businessman Mohammed Jaffer is also a major player with its Pro Gas brand, which has made significant inroads into the local retail market for the past two years.
His Africa Gas and Oil (AGOL) business is also the only storage depot connected (dedicated lines) to the Kenya Pipeline Company’s Changamwe pump station in Mombasa, also know as PS1.
Last year, Proto Energy received regulatory approval from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) to buy out Solutions East Africa, whose LPG products trade as SeaGas.
Taifa gas is however seen as a market shaker owing to its cheaper cooking gas prices.
For instance, a consumer can get a filled six-kilogramme gas cylinder, together with grill and burner at TSh40, 000 (Sh2, 109).
An empty Pro Gas 6 kg empty cylinder price is averaging Sh2, 500.
K-gas 6kg empty cylinder wholesale prices are averaging Sh3, 400 while to get a Total filled-up cylinder in Kenya, one has to part with Sh4, 240.
Meanwhile, the deal between Kenya and Tanzania to construct a gas pipeline is expected to help avail cheaper cooking gas in the Kenyan market.
During his visit of Tanzania in October, President William Ruto committed to the project, a 600-kilometre pipeline that will be used to import gas from Mtwara- Tanzania.
The pipeline whose cost is estimated at $1.1 billion (Sh 135.4 billion) is part of a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Natural Gas Transportation signed between former President Uhuru Kenyatta and President Samia Suluhu last year.
It is expected to help bring down the cost of cooking gas in Kenya.
