Jet A-1 fuel testing will now be conducted across all Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) laboratories.
This follows the certification of the Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, and Kisumu labs by the International Standard Organization (ISO).
KPC laboratories received their 2nd re-accreditation of the ISO 17025:2017 standard, a development set to significantly reduce the turnaround time for testing jet A-1 fuel. This improvement positions Kenya as a crucial transport hub in the region.
“We can now complete Jet A-1 fuel testing in 6 hours, down from the previous 24 hours required when tests were limited to the Nairobi laboratory.
Certifying all seven laboratories to test jet A-1 fuel will save on sample transportation costs and eliminate typical risks of delays and losses,” said Joe Sang, Managing Director of KPC.
The re-accreditation allows KPC’s laboratories to provide testing services for petroleum products to third-party entities, including Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
This means customers no longer need to travel to the Nairobi lab, as they now have access to competent and accredited facilities closer to their locations.
The globally recognized ISO 17025:2017 certification enhances KPC’s laboratory practice capabilities on an international scale, ensuring the timely identification and resolution of potential risks and errors, thereby minimizing the chances of inaccurate results and mitigating operational risks.
This commercialization of labs in PS 10 (Industrial Area, Nairobi), PS 01 (Changamwe, Mombasa), PS 14 (Kipevu, Mombasa), PS 15 (KPRL, Mombasa), PS 25 (Nakuru), PS 27 (Eldoret), and PS 28 (Kisumu) means customers no longer have to travel to the Nairobi lab (PS 10), as they now have access to competent and accredited facilities closer to home.
“The accreditation of all seven of KPC’s Laboratories makes KPC the largest multisite accredited Laboratory in Eastern Africa. The accreditation will also enable them to offer testing services to other agencies and suppliers within the petroleum sector.
The accreditation process is rigorous, we expect that a sample tested in any of the labs will give the same result across all seven labs,” said Martin Chesire, the CEO of Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS).
