Hope at last as Tullow Oil revives Kenya’s dream of becoming an oil-exporting country – See what Tullow CEO has proposed

Monday, November 11, 2024 - Kenya’s hope of becoming an oil-exporting country might no longer be a pipe dream.

This is after Tullow Oil Plc, the company that discovered oil in Turkana, renewed hope for Kenya’s oil exportation after proposing a new partnership that could put the country on course to regularly process and export oil.

While speaking to Bloomberg on Friday, Tullow Oil CEO Rahul Dhir proposed connecting Kenya’s export pipeline to South Sudan’s oil output.

He argued that the delayed project to export oil from discoveries in Kenya by pipeline to the coast could be a solution for South Sudan to transport its own crude and offer Kenya a much-needed partner.

“If you took 120,000 barrels a day from Lokichar and 250,000 barrels a day from South Sudan, you’ve got more than enough to build a very nice pipeline,” Dhir noted.

According to Dhir, a partnership between Kenya and South Sudan would present a win-win situation.

On one hand, South Sudan is in need of a new outlet for exporting its oil, while on the other, Kenya is looking for capital to build a new oil pipeline connecting the northern part of the country, where oil is located, to the Port of Mombasa.

South Sudan’s oil pipeline ceased operating in February and accounts for more than 90 per cent of government revenue in South Sudan and has taken a toll on the wider economy. 

The London-based explorer discovered crude in Kenya in 2012, but it failed to find a strategic partner to help realize the project and the country’s government has been slow to approve a development plan.

Tullow Oil had planned to make Kenya’s first commercial export of oil in 2028 through a Field Development Plan (FDP) which the firm submitted to the government for review and approval.

However, this hit a snag after its two strategic partners opted out of the deal.

The Kenyan DAILY POST