Staff back to work as Tullow resolves strike

Nairobi; Kenya: London-listed Tullow Oil said talks to resolve "limited industrial action" at sites in north Kenya had been successfully concluded and the staff affected were returning to work.

Independent oil and gas explorer Tullow and its partner, Africa Oil, have struck commercially viable deposits of oil in Kenya's Lokichar basin in Turkana, where they have discovered resources of about 600 million barrels.

Tullow said on Friday it was facing industrial action at drilling sites, but did not given details of how many sites were affected or whether any work had been interrupted. A local leader said the company had evacuated some workers.

"Negotiations between the county and central government representatives, workers' representatives, Tullow and its supplier regarding the limited industrial action in northern Kenya have concluded successfully," Tullow said. "The small number of workers affected are now returning to work," it said in a brief statement sent to Reuters late on Saturday, without giving further details.

Big oil and gas finds along Africa's east coast are propelling an exploration boom, but impoverished local communities say they are not getting any of the benefits.

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