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Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta Monday flagged off Kenya’s maiden crude oil export – with the crude oil to be shipped by Chinese state-owned firm ChemChina which won the tender to buy the maiden Kenyan oil at a premium early this month.
The Government on August 1 announced that the oil produced in Turkana and stacked at the Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd’s (KPRL) storage facilities in Mombasa would be sold at Sh1.2 billion ($12 million).
Speaking during the flag-off, President Uhuru said the country with its partners will continue to pursue natural resources but without compromising the future generation.
He said more resources would be channelled into upgrading infrastructure that would ease transport of oil from the fields to the port.
“The government will ensure that the local communities benefit from the oil and that the fruits of the resource are also shared in an equitable and sustainable manner,” he added. “I urge all those in charge to avoid any misuse of the resource that would deny others from its benefit,” he added.
Petroleum Cabinet Secretary John Munyes said plans are underway to have a pipeline between Turkana and Lamu Port to ease transportation of the oil. “The 2020 plan for a pipeline connecting Lokichar-Lamu are on track, we need more commitments on land and water to enable us to move faster with everything,” he added.
Representatives from Tullow Oil, Total, and governors from Lamu, Mombasa, West Pokot, Kwale, Taita Taveta and Turkana Deputy Governor attended the Monday function.
The export of the Crude Oil will start with a shipment of 200,000 barrels marking Kenya’s entry into the league of oil-exporting countries.
Tullow estimates that Kenya’s onshore fields in Turkana hold 560 million barrels of oil and expects them to produce up to 100,000 barrels per day from 2022.
The ministry of Petroleum earlier said ChemChina UK Ltd had outbid seven other companies from Europe and Asia that had expressed interest in acquiring Kenya’s oil.
“ChemChina UK Ltd was selected following a competitive tender process through which an invitation to bid was issued to prospective buyers on 26th July 2019 and to which there was strong response with eight bids received from international firms representing European and Asian refineries,” said the ministry of Petroleum in an earlier statement.
“Note that ChemChina UK Ltd was selected on the basis of their offered price and according to standard international terms.”
ChemChina – also referred to as the China National Chemical Corporation – operates in six different sectors, including oil processing, agrochemical production and tire and rubber production.
Information on its website says it has nine refineries with a combined annual crude oil processing capacity of 25 million tonnes.
Source: Standard Digital