15 October 2012, Sweetcrude, NEW DELHI – KENYA is set to auction six exploration blocks by the end of this year, Energy Minister Kiratu Murungi said at a conference in New Delhi, India, on Monday.
The planned offer follows work to map out new blocks from portions of acreage earlier surrendered by Tullow Oil and Anadarko Petroleum under the terms of their production sharing contracts.
Kenya said in July it planned to map out the new oil blocks for licensing after the two firms gave up portions of acreage under exploration licences, according to Reuters.
The country and its neighbours in east Africa, as well as the Horn of the continent, have become a hot spot for oil and gas exploration in recent years, spurred by new finds in countries including Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique.