Kenya is staring down the barrel of a costly legal battle after terminating two super petrol import contracts that were outside its exclusive fuel supply deal with Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Swiss-owned Oryx Energies Kenya, one of the firms contracted in March to import 96,000 tonnes of super petrol, has written to the Energy ministry rejecting the contract cancellation.

Correspondence seen by the Business Daily indicates that the Energy ministry informed Oryx Energies of the cancellation on March 31, just three days before five senior energy sector bureaucrats were arrested.

In the email to Oryx Energies, the State Department for Petroleum stated that it was calling off the deal and that the consignment would not be accepted into Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) storage and fuel transport infrastructure.

Oryx responded to the ministry on the same day, insisting that the import was on the strength of a procurement process which was documented and legally binding, and threatened to sue.

The firm was importing the super petrol in two batches, the first of which was to arrive less than 24 hours after the ministry communicated the cancellation.

“For the avoidance of doubt, in consideration of the fact that the documented instructions from MOEP are contractual and binding, we do not recognise any cancellation, and the purported cancellation is hereby rejected in full. As you are aware, Clause 16 of the OTS terms and conditions, as incorporated into the contracts, sets out the exclusive circumstances under which either party may terminate, and none of these circumstances apply in this instance,” Oryx Energies Kenya CEO Angeline Maangi said in an email to then Energy Principal Secretary (PS) Mohamed Liban.

Last week, when Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi issued a public statement rejecting the imports by Oryx Energies and One Petroleum, the latter said it had also been contracted following a procurement process.

One Petroleum, owned by the family of Mombasa tycoon Mohamed Jaffer, said in a statement that four firms were also picked to supply petroleum and avert a fuel crisis.

“In March, One Petroleum Ltd was one of the four bidders that successfully responded to an emergency request issued by the Kenya Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. Following consultations with the government, One Petroleum Ltd confirms that it has forthwith taken steps to ensure that the petroleum cargo that was brought in on 27th March, 2026 via MT Paloma does not enter the Kenyan market,” the firm said in its statement.

Oryx Energies’ 96,000 tonnes of super petrol was scheduled to arrive in two batches. The first consignment of 36,000 tonnes arrived at the Port of Mombasa on April 1, aboard the Marshall Islands-registered tanker MT Seaways Milos.

The second consignment of 60,000 tonnes was scheduled to arrive at the Port of Mombasa on April 10, aboard the M/T Torm Emma, a Denmark-registered vessel.

Ship tracking websites, however, now indicate that the MT Torm Emma instead docked at the Tanga Port in Tanzania on Saturday.

The same tracking platforms indicate that the MT Seaways Milos also docked at the Tanga Port on April 4, an indication that Oryx Energies could have diverted both consignments to Tanzania pending resolution of the standoff with Kenya.

Oryx Energies informed the State Department of Petroleum that the sudden cancellation had exposed the firm to financial and legal troubles with suppliers.

“Your email notification, served just hours before the arrival of the first PMS delivery, places Oryx Energies Kenya Ltd in a materially difficult commercial and operational position given our contractual commitments to our suppliers over these two deliveries. We are reviewing our position and any requited mitigation measures while reserving our rights,” Ms Maangi added in her response to Mr Liban.

Despite the tense exchange, Oryx Energies said it was open to a mutually workable solution.

“We remain open to constructive discussions to confirm a way forward and would welcome clarification of your position, including withdrawal of the cancellation notice, as soon as possible,” the email further read.

Read: Fate of recalled Sh12bn controversial petrol unknown

On Good Friday, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers arrested Mr Liban, former Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) Director-General Daniel Kiptoo, former Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) Managing Director Joe Sang and Joseph Wafula, an Energy ministry official.

All of them were released on Easter Monday after being granted police cash bail of Sh100,000 each, and directed to report to DCI headquarters whenever required to record statements and assist with the investigation.

They were accused of economic sabotage, by allegedly colluding with One Petroleum and Oryx Energies to illegally import fuel outside the government-to-government framework.

Investigations also revealed that the petroleum imported by One Petroleum and Oryx Energies could have had higher levels of sulphur, manganese and benzene than those allowed into the country by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

The alleged illegal import scheme, investigators and Mr Wandayi claimed, would have led to an increase of pump prices by at least Sh14 in the April-May cycle.

Mr Liban, in collaboration with Mr Sang and Mr Kiptoo, had overseen the contracting of three firms – Oryx Energies, One Petroleum and Gulf Energy for the supply of reserve super petrol outside the government-to-government deal with Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The former PS, in internal correspondence, based the move on two factors – a March 9 National Security Council Committee directive to break the cycle of Kenya’s reliance on Gulf countries for petroleum imports, and a projection that Kenya would run out of super petrol before the Easter holidays.

During a meeting of the Vessel Alignment Committee – a body comprised of public and private energy sector players – on March 18, the Energy ministry stated that it would consult internally and advise private firms whether there would be a need to make an emergency stock import.

Mr Wafula chaired that meeting. On March 25, a day after another Vessel Alignment Committee meeting, Mr Liban wrote to One Petroleum and Oryx Energies informing them that their proposal to ship in super petrol had been accepted by the ministry.

In an internal brief dated April 2, Mr Liban stated that Mr Wandayi had since directed that all imports must be done under the government-to-government framework.

The day after Mr Liban’s internal brief, the five energy bosses were arrested.

Following their arrest, Mr Wandayi on April 7 issued a statement in which the Energy ministry said the One Petroleum and Oryx Energy supply deals had been rejected.

In his statement, Mr Wandayi said that the One Petroleum and Oryx Energies consignments were significantly higher than the cost under the government-to-government framework and would have affected the April-May pump prices.

Specifically, he said that the One Petroleum consignment was priced at Sh198,000 per tonne, which would total to Sh11.8 billion. The same 60,000-tonne consignment, he added, would cost Sh3.4 billion less.

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