# Hass Petroleum: the Somali-Kenyan fuel company

> Hass Petroleum in facts: founders, history from Kisumu in 1997, countries, the Oman Oil stake, the Pinnacle tower in Nairobi and its work in Somalia.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/businesses/hass-petroleum/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## The short version

Hass Petroleum says it was founded and registered in **Kisumu, Kenya, in 1997** by the late **Abdirizak Ali Hassan** and its current chairman, **Abdinasir Ali Hassan** ([Hass Petroleum, Our history](https://hasspetroleum.com/our-history/)). It began as a fuel reseller for export, aiming at [Tanzania](/en/diaspora/tanzania/)'s newly opened fuel market, and opened its first retail filling station in Kisumu in **2002** (same source; [Wikipedia, Hass Petroleum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hass_Petroleum)). Its head office is in Nairobi and its chief executive is Mohamud Salat (Wikipedia, same page).

Abdinasir Ali Hassan was born in Garissa, Kenya, and lives in the UAE and [London](/en/diaspora/london/) ([Wikipedia, Abdinasir Ali Hassan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdinasir_Ali_Hassan)).

## Where it works

The company lists storage depots in **Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Zambia and South [Sudan](/en/diaspora/sudan/)**, and dates its entry into **Somalia to 2012** ([Hass Petroleum, Our history](https://hasspetroleum.com/our-history/)). It describes the wider business as the Hass Group ([Hass Group, About](https://hasspetroleum.com/new/about/)). In 2017 it was named business of the year at the International Somali Awards ([International Somali Awards, 2017 winners](http://internationalsomaliawards.com/#nominees)).

## The Oman stake and the Nairobi tower

In **July 2017** [Oman](/en/diaspora/oman/)'s state-owned oil company bought a **40.3 percent** stake in Hass Petroleum ([Daily Nation, Local oil dealer sells big stake to Omani firm](https://nation.africa/kenya/business/local-oil-dealer-sells-big-stake-to-omani-firm-407116)). In **May 2017** building work began on the Pinnacle, a tower in Nairobi's Upper Hill planned by the Hass group and partners as Africa's tallest building, with a Hilton hotel ([The Economist, 25 May 2017](https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21722664-does-start-africas-tallest-building-signal-end-kenyas-boom-work); [Daily Nation, Hilton replies to hotel rivals with 45-floor Nairobi tower](http://www.nation.co.ke/business/Hilton-replies-to-hotel-rivals-with-45-floor-Nairobi-tower/996-3406900-egoyefz/index.html)).

## Place in Somali business

Hass is one of several large firms founded by Somalis in Kenya, alongside the trading and money transfer houses of Nairobi's [Eastleigh](/en/economy/eastleigh-somali-business/) district (see [Somalis in Kenya](/en/diaspora/kenya/)). The Clingendael Institute's 2019 study notes that some newer Somali ventures in oil and gas made Kenya a key market, unlike most Somali transnational firms whose business is built around the Somali market ([Clingendael, Transnational capital in Somalia, June 2019](https://kpsrl.org/sites/kpsrl/files/2020-03/transnational-capital-in-somalia%20updated%20report.pdf)).

## Sources disagree

- **Founding year.** The company says 1997; a 2025 local history blog says 1996 ([Hass Petroleum](https://hasspetroleum.com/our-history/); [Kisumu Kulture, April 2025](https://kisumukulture.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-rise-of-hass-petroleum-from-kisumu.html)).
- **Number of countries.** Wikipedia says more than 11; the company's depot list names 7; the 2025 blog says 9 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hass_Petroleum); [Hass Petroleum](https://hasspetroleum.com/our-history/)).

See also [Somali business pioneers](/en/economy/somali-business-pioneers/).

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