KenolKobil announced Monday that it has purchased the largest lubricant distributor in Burundi. Nairobi-based KenolKobil said it will use the former Oil Burundi S.A. to shore up and expand its sales in the small East African nation.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. KenolKobil acquired Oil Burundi from Engen International Holdings, an arm of South Africa-based energy company Engen. Malaysian national oil company Petronas is majority shareholder of Engen.
KenolKobil markets lubricants, fuels and car care products in Kenya and through subsidiaries in five neighboring nations – Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia. It also already exported lubricants and white products to Burundi, but management said this weeks acquisition will open opportunities for improved supply lines.
KenolKobil said imports from Kenya have been hampered by poor performance of Kenyas main refinery, non-availability of products in Western Kenya and limited capacity in storage facilities there. As a result, oil marketing companies have shifted supply lines for Burundi and other inland countries to a Tanzanian corridor that passes through Dar, Tanzania, and which has been more reliable.
KenolKobil said it will now use its Tanzanian facilities to supply Burundi.
Oil Burundi supplied several key commercial customers in Burundi, and there provides an ideal platform to grow the market share of [the] Kobil lubricants brand, KenolKobil said in a press release. The acquisition includes three Sonitra-branded service stations. It also gives KenolKobil access to the only oil products depot in Burundis capital, Bujumbura.