To answer the questions as to why Kenya imports petroleum in crude form, you need first to understand the difference between petroleum and crude oil.
Definitions
Crude oil: This is the raw material that we get from the ground. Some of the products that can be made from crude oil include gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, waxes, lubricating oils, etc.
Petroleum: This is a term used to refer to refined by products of Crude oil. For example gasoline, kerosene, diesel, etc.
This means you cannot use crude oil to light your kerosene lamp but you can use kerosene to light your kerosene lamp.
Reasons for importing crude oil
Some the reasons why Kenya imports Petroleum in Crude form include
- Can be refined to produce many petroleum products
- It is less risky to transport
- It is easy to package