East African company Société Pétrolière expands LPG business

14th May 2019 By: Simone Liedtke - Creamer Media Social Media Editor & Senior Writer

East African Société Pétrolière (SP) has, through the installation of eight liquified petroleum gas (LPG) storage and cylinder filling plants, doubled Rwanda’s LPG storage and filling capacity.

Each of these facilities has a storage capacity of 20 m3 and is capable of filling about 1 000 bottles a day.

The amount of LPG imported in Rwanda has doubled from just over five-million kilograms in 2016, to over 18.2-million kilograms in 2018.

The plants will also add to SP's fast-growing presence, training 19 new members of staff to fill and distribute the cylinders which are provided in sizes of 3 kg, 6 kg, 12 kg and 15 kg.

SP founding shareholder Egide Gatera says the environmental benefits of LPG are also clear.

"More Rwandans are using gas for cooking and industry. They realise that using gas is healthier and cleaner than using charcoal or fire wood. In line with our commitment to reach the wider population, SP is the first in Rwanda to have LPG storage and filling facilities outside of Kigali,” he said.

After receiving ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification earlier this year, this is an exciting development for Rwanda and for SP, SP CEO Yves Legrux comments, adding that the company looks forward to “helping more households and industrial users switch to better and cleaner gas, as we continue to invest and operate to the highest possible standards in the region”.

The expansion in Rwanda is another step in the development of SP and marks the company's continued expansion into a wider range of petroleum products in Rwanda and neighbouring countries.