Politics and policy
By GEORGE OMONDI
In Summary
- Tullow Oil and Africa Oil have estimated discoveries in the South Lokichar basin at 600 million barrels, a level experts say is enough to make a pipeline viable even without Uganda.
Uganda will export its crude oil through Kenya and
the two governments Wednesday invited bids for a single consultant to
oversee a feasibility study and initial design for the construction of a
1,300-kilometre oil pipeline to Lamu.
The pipeline will run from Hoima in Uganda through the Lokichar basin in northwest Kenya to Lamu.
Uganda and Kenya have discovered commercial quantities of oil and plan to start production in the next three years or so.
Uganda has already selected two bidders to build a
refinery in Hoima, Uganda’s oil town in the western region — a pointer
that it’s looking to export both crude and refined product via a
pipeline through Kenya.
Kenya’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum said in
addition to the pipeline, the consultant would be required to oversee
the building of a fibre optic cable from Hoima to Lamu, and tank
terminals in Hoima, Lokichar and Lamu.
“The pipeline is to be developed as a single
project but split into two lots namely Hoima to the Uganda-Kenya border
and from the border to Lamu,” said Energy PS Joseph Njoroge, adding that
interested firms and consortia had until July 25 to submit proposals.
The ministry’s principal secretary, Joseph Njoroge,
said this month the aim of having a single consultant for the whole
project was to ensure consistency in the quality of the whole pipeline.
East Africa has become potentially lucrative for
international oil firms after Kenya and Uganda’s commercial oil finds
and discoveries of gas off the coast of Tanzania and Mozambique.
Tullow Oil and Africa Oil, which control blocks in
Kenya, have estimated discoveries in the South Lokichar basin at 600
million barrels, a level experts say is enough to make a pipeline viable
even without Uganda.
The two companies said on Tuesday they had found
additional oil and gas reserves at their northwest Kenya blocks. A Joint
crude pipeline is one of the flagship projects that the three states,
together with South Sudan agreed to implement jointly in a pact signed
last year.
On Monday, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed energy
officials to ensure Kenyan side of the pipeline is built in less than
five years. He offered Turkana residents a stake in the pipeline in exchange for land.
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