Rwanda to import 12m litres of reserve oil

The dependence on Kenya was especially felt in Rwanda during the recent crisis in the month of December when the only alternative route was through Tanzania.

In order to increase supply, reliability and minimise the transport cost of imported oil products, Rwanda has joined Kenya and Uganda in the East African oil pipeline project.

Rwanda is expecting to benefit from a further extension of the pipeline from Kampala to Kigali, a distance of 600 km.

The potential to further extend the pipeline to Bujumbura is under discussion.

A market survey by Science Applications International Co-operation carried out through financial support from the United States Trade Development Agency, confirmed that construction of the pipeline is expected to lower the cost of trucking from $56.89 to about $42.44 per cubic meter, hence easing the oil tariff structure. Officials in Kigali say the construction of the Kampala-Kigali pipeline will create a need for additional investment in storage capacity of the country.

The existing storage in Kigali can accommodate up to 17,500 cubic meters of petroleum products.

Officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning told a donors’ meeting in Kigali last year that, in order to meet the growing demand of petroleum products, two storage facilities — Bigogwe, with a capacity of 5,000 cubic meters, and Rwabuye, with a capacity of 4,000 cubic meters, are being rehabilitated by the government.

Ms Nsanzabaganwa said last week that Rwanda has plans to build its own pipeline from the Indian Ocean.

“The pipeline that supplies Eldoret is sometimes faulty. So, if we link our pipeline from that point, it means that we may also be affected even if we put everything in place,” she said.