Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has said that the fuel price reduction will not be felt immediately because of the weak shilling against the dollar.
This is after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority on Monday reduced the prices of fuel by Sh1 in its latest price review with a subsidy being retained on kerosene.
“Fuel prices reduction shall not be felt immediately because of the weak shilling against the dollar despite 30 per cent reduction in global fuel prices and post-Uhuru side effects,” Cherargei said on Tuesday.
Fuel challenges including high prices have haunted motorists since last year around September.
Fuel prices in Kenya surged to the record highest price in September after the new government slashed subsidies.
In the latest EPRA review, a litre of petrol will retail at Sh177.30 in Nairobi while a litre of diesel will retail at Sh162.00.
The energy regulator said the price of diesel has been cross-subsidised with that of super petrol.
Cross-subsidisation is when a marketer charges higher prices to a group of consumers to subsidise lower prices for another group.
In this case, it means diesel users will pay a higher price to ensure petrol users have a lower price.
Cherargei said Tullow oil exploration in Turkana will solve fuel challenges.
He said making the oil exploration commercial and used locally, will address the challenge.
Tullow said in an operational update in January that it submitted the field development plan to the Petroleum ministry in December 2021.
The submission of the FDP comes on the backdrop of the raised stakes for the project following a redesign of the development in the first half of 2021.
Tullow saw a greater daily output from the project at 120,000 barrels (bbls) from 72,000 bbls previously.
Further, the review estimated larger volumes of oil deposits with a gross of 585 million barrels from 433 million barrels previously.
In October, Tullow said it was stepping up its search for a strategic partner to help it implement its development plan.
The raised stakes for the project served to clear up doubts over the viability of the project which has remained largely in the exploration stage since the discovery of oil in the Lokichar basin in the early 2010s.
“Based on the revised plan, Tullow believes that this project is an attractive commercial prospect for investors looking to access the East Africa oil and gas sector in both the upstream and midstream,” Tullow said in a trading statement on September 15.
“It is intended that a strategic partner will be secured ahead of a Final Investment Decision.”
