Base Oil CFR Mombasa, Kenya: SN150 and SN500 for Lubricant Blenders
Kenya's lubricant blenders imported 90,394 t of base oil in 2025, 80.1% of it from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom
Kenya's lubricant blenders buy their base oil under EAC tariff line 2710.19.59, which the EAC duty-remission notices describe as petroleum base oils. Kenya declared 90,394 t of imports on that line in 2025, worth USD 112.68 million, an average of USD 1,247 per tonne CIF, after 88,768 t at USD 1,259 in 2024. Two origins carry the trade. In 2025 the Netherlands supplied 43,347 t (48.0%) at USD 1,278/t and the United Kingdom 29,087 t (32.2%) at USD 1,239/t, together 80.1%, after 84.5% in 2024; India (3,248 t at USD 1,218), the United States (2,576 t at USD 1,215), Egypt (1,273 t), Germany (542 t) and South Korea (522 t) shipped smaller volumes. The exporters' own statistics show how the tonnage moves and what it costs now. HMRC records UK shipments to Kenya as bulk parcels of 5,337 to 5,955 t, in April, June, October and December 2025 and March, April and June 2026, and Dutch shipments to Kenya were 60,072 t in 2025, both under CN 2710 19 99, a wider code than base oil alone. Their declared FOB values rose through 2026: Dutch shipments to Kenya went from €739/t in February to €1,821/t in June and €2,215/t in July, and UK shipments from £712/t in March to £1,623/t in June, against 2025 averages of €950/t and £819/t. The tariff keeps the blending in Kenya: base oil pays the 10% EAC common external tariff, or 0% for manufacturers named in an EAC duty-remission notice (seven Kenyan lubricant manufacturers under Legal Notice EAC/215/2024, for twelve months), while finished lubricants pay 35% in Kenya for 2026/27 under a stay of the 25% CET.
CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers Group I SN150 and SN500, and Group II N150 and N500 where the formulation allows, CFR Mombasa for Kenyan lubricant manufacturers and importers: bulk parcels on parcel tankers, and 20 ft flexitanks for container lots, where one 24,000-litre flexitank holds about 21 t of SN150. Every lot ships against the producing refinery's COA, a certificate of origin naming the refinery, and a KEBS certificate of conformity. KEBS certifies base oil under Route A of its PVoC programme only: each consignment is tested at source by the appointed inspection body before the certificate is issued, and recycled base oil is not admitted. A consignment shipped on or after 1 March 2026 from a country with an appointed inspection company that arrives without a certificate is inspected at destination for a fee of 5% of the approved customs value. On top of duty, Kenya charges the Import Declaration Fee at 2.5% and the Railway Development Levy at 2% of the customs value, and VAT at 16%. Send the grade and group, the quantity, bulk or flexitank, the importer of record and whether it holds a current remission, the delivery month and the payment terms, and the enquiry is screened and worked against them.
Also on this lane: SN150 base oil · SN500 base oil · Group II base oil
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The market in figures
- Kenya base oil imports, 2025 (2710.19.59)
- 90,394 t · USD 112.68 m · USD 1,247/t CIF (2024: 88,768 t at USD 1,259/t)
- Main origins, 2025
- Netherlands 43,347 t (48.0%) · United Kingdom 29,087 t (32.2%) · together 80.1% (84.5% in 2024)
- Declared CIF by origin, 2025
- Netherlands USD 1,278/t · UK USD 1,239/t · India USD 1,218/t · USA USD 1,215/t
- Exporters' FOB to Kenya, 2026
- Netherlands €739/t (Feb) to €2,215/t (Jul) · UK £712/t (Mar) to £1,623/t (Jun)
- How it arrives
- UK bulk parcels of 5,337–5,955 t (7 parcels, Apr 2025–Jun 2026) · 20 ft flexitank of 24,000 L, about 21 t of SN150
- Duty and charges
- 10% CET, 0% under a gazetted remission · IDF 2.5% · RDL 2% · VAT 16% · finished lubricants 35% (2026/27)
- Conformity
- KEBS PVoC Route A, tested at source · no recycled base oil · no CoC from 1 Mar 2026 = 5% destination inspection
Landed values are the importing country's declared CIF, not CBIL prices.
Questions buyers ask
- What duty and charges does base oil pay into Kenya?
- Base oil enters under EAC tariff line 2710.19.59 at the 10% common external tariff. Kenyan lubricant manufacturers named in an EAC duty-remission notice import a gazetted quantity at 0% for twelve months; Legal Notice EAC/215/2024 of 27 July 2024, for example, covered seven manufacturers, so the remission status of the importer of record is the first thing to settle. Kenya also charges the Import Declaration Fee at 2.5% and the Railway Development Levy at 2% of the customs value, and VAT at 16% (the 8% rate is for fuel). Finished lubricants under 2710.19.51 pay 35% in Kenya for 2026/27 under a stay of the 25% CET, and the CET on that line is now 25% or USD 0.46 per litre, whichever is higher. Technical white oil (2710.19.57) is a separate line at 0%.
- What does KEBS require on a base oil cargo?
- A certificate of conformity under the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) programme. Base oil is certified under Route A only: under a KEBS notice of 8 June 2018 every lubricant and base oil import is tested at source by the appointed inspection body before the certificate is issued, loading and sealing are witnessed for full container loads, and recycled base oil is not admitted. Under the 2026 PVoC contracts, a consignment shipped on or after 1 March 2026 from a country with an appointed inspection company that arrives without a certificate is inspected at destination for 5% of the approved customs value. Where no company is appointed KEBS inspects at destination for 0.6%, and in 2026 it added Africa, Central Europe, Canada and the USA to that regime.
- Bulk parcel or flexitank into Mombasa?
- Both run. The Dutch and UK tonnage arrives in bulk: HMRC records UK shipments to Kenya of 5,337 to 5,955 t in April, June, October and December 2025 and in March, April and June 2026. Container lots run alongside: a 24,000-litre flexitank in a 20 ft box holds about 21 t of SN150 at a density of 0.875, and Kenyan customs entries under 2710.19.59.00 show SN150 and SN500 shipped one flexibag to a 20 ft container, such as 40,490 kg of SN500 Group I in two flexibags in September 2019. An order of 20 t per grade is one container per grade.
- Which origins supply Kenya, and how is origin proven?
- By Kenya's own customs declarations the Netherlands supplied 48.0% of 2025 tonnage at USD 1,278/t CIF and the United Kingdom 32.2% at USD 1,239/t; India, the United States, Egypt, Germany and South Korea shipped smaller volumes. A customs origin is the loading country, not the refinery, so every lot CBIL brokers carries the producing refinery's COA and a certificate of origin naming that refinery, with SGS or Intertek inspection at load.
- Does a Mombasa cargo also serve Uganda?
- It can. Uganda is landlocked and Mombasa is the sea gateway of the Northern Corridor to Kampala. Uganda declared 21,958 t of imports under the same tariff line in 2025, and on 31 July 2026 the EAC gazetted 0% base-oil remissions for twelve Ugandan lubricant manufacturers for twelve months (Legal Notice EAC/252/2026). The remission that applies is the one held by the importer of record in the country of entry.