Uhuru to flag off Turkana oil convoy on June 3

An oil rig used in drilling at the Ngamia-1 well in the Lokichar basin, Turkana County. [File, Standard]

President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to flag off the first convoy of trucks carrying oil from Lokichar in Turkana County on June 3.

In a statement yesterday, State House said the new date was reached following a meeting with the three firms that are exploring for oil in the Lokichar fields – Tullow Oil, Africa Oil and Total.

The meeting was also attended by leaders from Turkana including Governor Josphat Nanok and Petroleum and Mining Cabinet Secretary John Munyes.

The statement added that the flag-off and subsequent implementation of the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS) would mark the entry of oil as a critical factor in Kenya’s economy.

“We are ready to get started. This is important for our country as a whole, and for the community in the producing area,” said the President at the meeting that discussed the pilot.

The new date will be two days later than the June 1 communicated last week by State House.

Working closely

During the meeting, the three firms agreed to continue working closely with both the national and county governments in actualising the EOPS.

The project will utilise existing wells in Turkana County to produce 2,000 barrels of oil a day and the crude will be transported to Mombasa by road.

Tullow Oil had produced 70,000 barrels during an extended well-testing programme in 2015, which will be the first oil cargo to be trucked to Mombasa.

The oil will be stockpiled at the Kenya Petroleum Refineries and then exported.

Governor Nanok said the Turkana community had been informed of the agreement on the sharing of revenue from the oil proceeds.

At another meeting last week, Mr Nanok together with leaders from Turkana met with the national government leadership, including Uhuru, and agreed on a revenue sharing formula.