Share more information on Turkana oil exploration drive

It is five years since the country first struck crude oil of commercially viable quantities in the South Lokichar basin, and it is still unclear when Kenya will start to benefit from oil exports. Contradictory statements from the Government and Tullow Oil, one of the main explorers of crude in Turkana County, have not helped. The confusion surrounding these explorations has been compounded by recent reports that Tullow Oil, or other partners, could be selling part of its exploration interests to a new player.

When Tullow Oil made its first significant find in the Ngamia 1 oil exploration well following prolonged drilling of blocks in the Turkana basin, it was indicated that the country could reasonably expect to begin exporting crude by 2016.  But export timelines have repeatedly been revised.

It could very well be that the complexity of the operation and changes in the law muddied by social dynamics contributed to these revised timelines. However, the guarded communication from players in this sector has served to fuel suspicions from local groups in Turkana that they are being left out of the gravy train even as the rest of the country waits for Kenya to become an oil producer.

Kenya can only benefit from oil exports if crude remains the most desirable source of energy. However, the reliance on crude powered technology is quickly fading as more nations wean themselves off this product and shift to renewable or less polluting sources of energy. This gives Kenya, currently sitting on 650 million barrels of crude, a very small window to viably exploit this resource.

These discussions as well as debates on revenue-sharing agreements should come out in open forums otherwise conspiracy theories will abound. In many parts of Africa, the general population has often been kept in the dark about deals between multinational oil corporations and their governments. Because these deals have often been skewed to favour government functionaries, the public has felt exploited. We must not allow such suspicions to fester in Kenya.