Tullow Oil invests Sh300m in communities

Kisumu, Kenya: Tullow Oil Company has allocated Sh300 million to community projects in the country for the next two years.

Of the money, the company plans to spend Sh150 million this year to sponsor 30 people from across the country to take post-graduate courses in the oil and gas industry.

Speaking in Kisumu during a media forum, the company's Local Content Manager Susan Munyori said part of the funds were meant for 25 scholarships in 2013.

Noting that the oil industry is quickly growing in the country, Ms Munyori said there are few expertise and as such, the country is forced to outsource.

"We know the country is a potential oil source and as a company, we want to develop our own people who understand the cultural orientation and all other aspects within the society they are in," she said.

She said through the company's social investment strategies, Sh7.9 million has been spent on bursaries for students in secondary schools across the country.

The company, which launched its operations in the country four years ago, has since established six drilling blocks with the latest being Block B2 covering the Nyanza region.

Munyori said the company has also allocated Sh15 million for the provision of water services to communities as a means of promoting relationships with its stakeholders.

Community engagement

"We are aware of the social and economic ability of the people we interact with, and we are playing our part well in the society," she added.

The revelations come amid complaints by a section of Kisumu County residents who have been accusing the firm of using bursary baits to invade their firms during their exploration surveys.

The residents also expressed fears for the environmental impacts, which could follow the exploration hence called for consensus before the drilling work could commence.

The company's Senior Communications Advisor Mercy Kabangi said fallout between various stakeholders in the region are responsible for the complaints.