Kenya is planning to start exporting oil from South Lokichar in Turkana County before the end of this year, in what could mark a big step for the country’s energy sector.
Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi said the government is working towards having the first shipments of crude oil leave the country by December.
He said Gulf Energy, which recently took over the project from Tullow Oil, is getting ready to begin operations in the oil fields.
The CS confirmed that the company had reassured the government that everything was going according to schedule. It has also been reported that he plans to visit Lokichar later this month to kick off activities there.
Last year, the deal involving the acquisition of the company’s asset in the region was worth about KSh15.5 billion. The company got rights to hundreds of millions of barrels of oil in the South Lokichar basin.
In case the whole process moves smoothly, the first consignment of oil will be shipped out of the country through the port of Mombasa.
While at it, the government adds that it is open to collaborating with private sector investors willing to build a refinery in the country. Wandayi noted that several offers have been made and are currently under review.
Oil exportation has not been entirely foreign to Kenya. For example, in 2018, oil was exported in trucks from Turkana to Mombasa as part of a pilot project.
Presently, the government asserts that Kenya is poised to upgrade from the pilot project stage to full-scale exportation.
The plan comes against the backdrop of Kenya trying to seek energy security through reliable sources.
In the event the move succeeds, it will mark a new beginning for the Kenyan economy, which has been highly dependent on imported fuel.
