14 August 2016, Nairobi – Kenya’s plans of joining the oil exporting league moved one step forward on Thursday when the Cabinet approved a commercialisation plan by the Ministry of Energy.
The country now hopes to start exporting 4,000 barrels of crude oil daily by June next year, but the initial plan is 2,000 barrels.
The crude will be transported by road from the Lokichar basin oil fields to Eldoret, from where it will be loaded onto a train or trucked to Mombasa.
The daily yield translates to between Sh8.3 million ($82,000) and Sh16.6 million ($164 million) daily, given that a barrel of crude oil is currently fetching Sh4,160 ($41).
Annually, Kenya could earn between Sh3 billion and Sh6 billion from the initial export of crude oil.
The country joined the oil league when African Oil and its partner Tullow Oil first discovered oil in the Lokichar basin of Turkana County in 2012, with reserves estimated at 600 million barrels.
The approval was made on Thursday during a special Cabinet meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi.
Daily Nation
