Fuel leak in Tassia after contractor drills into Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline

NAIROBI,Kenya Nov 9 – The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) has shut down a section of its Mombasa-Nairobi petroleum pipeline after it was punctured during drilling works near Tassia, off Outer Ring Road in Embakasi, Nairobi.

The incident, which occurred at about 9am on Monday, November 9, involved Line 5, which transports petroleum products from the coastal city to Nairobi.

KPC said the damage was caused by a contractor undertaking geotechnical survey and drilling works on behalf of the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC), with the company’s emergency teams rushing to the scene to contain the fuel leak and prevent further damage.

In a statement, KPC acting Managing Director Pius Mwendwa said the company had immediately isolated the affected section and deployed technical personnel, fire-safety teams and incident management specialists.

“Following the incident, KPC immediately shut down the affected pipeline section and deployed its Incident Management team, pipeline repair personnel and fire-safety teams to the site. The situation is under control,” Mwendwa said.

The company said it had also worked with security and emergency response agencies to cordon off the affected area and deploy additional equipment for product containment, recovery and environmental management.

Mwendwa said investigations had been launched to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident, with the drilling operators assisting police officers.

“Investigations are underway, and the KRC drill rig operators are assisting the Kenya Police Service with the investigations, while the KPC technical teams assess the extent of the damage and undertake the necessary repairs,” he said.

The company did not immediately disclose the quantity of petroleum products released or the extent of environmental damage. It also did not indicate how long repairs would take or whether the incident would affect fuel deliveries to Nairobi.

Line 5 is a critical component of Kenya’s petroleum distribution infrastructure. The 450-kilometre pipeline, which was commissioned in 2018, runs from Mombasa to Nairobi and has a diameter of 20 inches.

It was constructed to replace the older Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline and has an installed flow capacity of approximately 1,000 cubic metres per hour, supported by pumping stations along the route.

KPC operates an extensive pipeline network of approximately 1,342 kilometres, transporting petroleum products from Mombasa to inland depots in Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret and Kisumu, as well as supporting regional mar