15 April 2018, Nairobi — The National Oil Corporation of Kenya (National Oil) has engaged Schlumberger Limited, the world’s number one oil and gas services company to support the Corporation in building Field Development Plan for the Lokichar oil discoveries.
Schlumberger Limited – global leading provider of technology for reservoir characterization, drilling, production, and processing to the oil and gas industry – will collaborate with National Oil to jointly come up with the blueprint in a year.
The plan will provide the government with an independent view of the development of the Lokichar oil discoveries which will be useful in supporting the Government in evaluating the work already being done by the investors namely; Tullow, Africa Oil and Maersk.
National Oil Chief Executive MaryJane Mwangi says the move is aimed at strengthening National Oil’s role as an advisor to Government in the development of the national petroleum resource.
“Through this engagement with Schlumberger National Oil will be equipped to better advise the Government on the best principles and practices for developing the oil discoveries in Lokichar with a view to safeguarding national interest,” Mwangi noted.
The deal will also see a comprehensive skills transfer exercise anchored on a project-based learning model through which technical oil and gas skills will be transferred to a team of 25 staff from both National Oil and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining.
The project combines classroom-based learning with hands-on learning that allows for comprehensive skills transfer.
The project also entails a mentorship programme through which National Oil staff will be attached to subject matter experts within Schlumberger for one-on-one mentorship.
“This project will see significant skills transfer particularly to our young graduate trainees which is central to National Oil’s as well as the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining’s agenda of securing the future of the oil and gas industry in Kenya,” she noted.
The move comes even as the government postponed the early oil export plan as it awaits the passage of the Revenue Sharing Bill, which is pending before the Senate.
The Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS) is meant to help establish Kenya as a crude oil exporter and provide valuable information on the international market for Kenyan crude since the product is new in the global crude oil market.
EOPS will also help Kenya utilise the five existing wells to produce oil, with phase one targeting oil production of 2,000 barrels per day.
The beginning of the pilot scheme will also help Kenya develop further supporting infrastructure toward Full Field Development which includes Port-South (Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopian Transport) developments and a crude oil pipeline from Turkana to Lamu carrying between 80,000 to 150,000 barrels of oil per day.
*Kennedy Kangethe – CapitalFM
