Kenya has ended its multi-billion shilling early oil export
scheme after barely trucking half the targeted volume to Mombasa amidst
increasing uncertainties on the prospects for the Turkana oil project.
The
second phase of the Early Oil Pilot Scheme had targeted trucking some
500,000 barrels of crude to Mombasa for export but had only gathered
180,000 barrels by the time the contract ended on Tuesday.
The
first phase that saw some 250,000 barrels exported at Sh1.48 billion
had emboldened the government to increase production and trucking for a
second shipment this year.
The second phase was then
bogged by bad roads in Turkana that were made impassable by flooding in
March, freezing the scheme for months as time lapsed to the June 2
deadline.
Tullow Oil on Tuesday announced the end of the pilot scheme, saying it had served its purpose.
The British oil explorer’s chief operating officer, Mark
MacFarlane, said the critical data and market testing for the Kenyan
crude had been achieved together with upgrade of local infrastructure.
“The
EOPS has provided important lessons for the planning and execution of
the Full Field Development phase of the project Oil Kenya. By producing,
transporting, storing and exporting crude oil from nothern Kenya, the
pilot scheme has provided proof of concept for oil production in Kenya.
The first export of crude oil from East Africa in 2019 was a historic
achievement and clearly demonstrated the potential of project oil Kenya
on world Markets,” Mr MacFarlane said.
The government
had planned to ramp up trucking of crude from April 2019 with trucks
having been increased to 100 from 30 before floods cut off the road
between Kitale and Lokichar early this year .
Tullow
Kenya Managing Director Martin Mbogo in March 2019 had signalled a
possible extension of the trucking of crude, which started in June 2018
‘depending on project needs’.
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