Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has flagged off the country’s first batch of crude oil to be exported overseas from the port of Mombasa in what has been termed as a historical moment for the East African nation.
The first export of oil is seen a clear roadmap towards the full exploration and development of oil in the north eastern sides of the country. What is going on in Kenya, as far as oil exploration and development is concerned, is regarded as the first phase before full production and exportation which is set to start by the year 2024.
Kenya is expected to make more than $84M over the next two years from the sale of the crude oil.
ChemChina, a UK-based Chinese company, won the tender to buy the first batch of 240,000 barrels of crude oil under the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS).
Before getting to the port city of Mombasa, the crude oil had to be transported some 850km by road from where it is being drilled by Tullow Oil thanks to the fact that the country does not have an oil pipeline in place already. Efforts to jointly build an oil pipeline with Uganda hit a snag after Museveni opted to work with Tanzania instead, a move which did not go down well with its East African Community friends.
According to estimates given by Tullow Oil, the Kenyan oil fields in the north eastern region holds up an estimated 560 million barrels which the company expects to get up to 100,000 barrels in a single day from 2022 going forward.
While speaking during the flagging off of the shipment carrying the oil, President Kenyatta said Kenya together with its partners will continue pursuing natural resources but, at the same time, not compromising the country’s future generation.
On the other hand, Tullow Oil CEO Paul McDade said the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS) is certainly an essential step towards Full Field Development (FFD).
