Kenya has launched a pilot programme to export crude oil via Mombasa as it looks to leverage its oil reserves
Last month, Kenya's national government and the regional administration of Turkana agreed on revenue sharing which will come into force when production reaches full capacity in 2022.
“The benefits of the project will be shared and no one will be left behind,” Deputy President William Ruto said at the launch of the export initiative under which 2,000 barrels will be transported to Mombasa by road for shipment each day.
“After consultation with the leadership of Turkana (county) and the community, we have decided that instead of having the project commence by this month, we will defer it until the bill which is pending before the Senate,” Energy and Petroleum cabinet secretary Charles Keter told a news conference, according to a Reuters report.
Kenya has an estimated 750mmbbl of recoverable reserves in onshore fields but lacks pipeline infrastructure to transport this crude from the northwest to an export terminal on the east coast.
UK's Tullow Oil, which operates the fields will begin shipping oil that has been held in storage for a year.
Tullow hired energy services company Wood Group to design a pipeline to transport crude oil from Lokichar’s onshore fields to a port in Lamu along the Indian Ocean coast.
