The Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) has moved to the High Court seeking to stop a 25-year agreement between Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited (KPRL) and Gulf Energy E&P B.V. for the storage and handling of crude oil.
COFEK wants the court to suspend the deal, saying details of how the agreement was awarded and its key terms have not been made public.
The agreement was signed on August 26, 2026, and is expected to generate about Ksh93.68 billion in gross revenue over the 25-year period.
In its petition filed at the High Court in Nairobi, COFEK has questioned whether the process used to enter into the agreement followed the law.
COFEK Secretary General Stephen Mutoro said the organisation went to court before the agreement creates further contractual obligations around strategic petroleum infrastructure.
“We are urging the High Court to suspend implementation now, before contractual rights lock in and Kenyans are left with a fait accompli on strategic petroleum infrastructure,” Mutoro said on Thursday.
The consumer organisation wants the court to examine whether the deal met constitutional requirements on transparency, accountability and public procurement.
COFEK has relied on Article 227 of the Constitution, which requires public entities to conduct procurement in a transparent, competitive and cost-effective manner.
The petition also cites the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, the Petroleum Act, the Fair Administrative Action Act and the Access to Information Act.
Under the agreement, KPRL, which is wholly owned by Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), is expected to provide facilities and services for receiving, storing, handling and delivering crude oil for export through the Kipevu Oil Terminal II (KOT II) in Mombasa.
KPC has said the Ksh93.68 billion figure is based on fixed service fees and the recovery of qualifying variable costs.
However, the company has cautioned that the amount is only a projection based on expected crude oil volumes and applicable tariffs and is not guaranteed revenue.
The deal is linked to plans to develop oil resources in the South Lokichar Basin in Turkana.
Under the current arrangement, crude oil from the basin is expected to be transported to Mombasa, stored at KPRL and later exported through KOT II.
COFEK is now asking the High Court to stop implementation of the agreement as it considers the legal and constitutional issues raised in the petition.
