Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has urged Kenyans to thoroughly scrutinise the Turkana Oil Field Development Plan (FDP) currently under consideration by Parliament, describing it as “the biggest scandal” of President William Ruto’s administration.
In a statement on his social media accounts on Monday, December 29, Sifuna alleged that the agreements have several red flags and questionable amendments that he says most of them were made shortly before parliamentary review.
The FDP is the official and detailed blueprint that explains how oil that was discovered in Turkana, in South Lokichar Basin, Block T6 and T7, will be developed and produced commercially.
The senator said that the move by Gulf Energy, which will be responsible for drilling oil, to change names and ownership within a short period of time, was suspicious.
The senator further claimed that the original production contract of the project had been reviewed several times, with a major change being executed on Tuesday, November 26, where the maximum recoverable cost for petroleum production was raised from the initial 55 per cent to 85 per cent.
"The ownership of the Company that is to produce the oil (Gulf Energy, formerly Tullow) changed names and hands multiple times in a matter of weeks," Sifuna said.
"Days even. Your lawyer will tell you that's symptomatic of attempts to mask real ownership. It is telling that the current FDP was approved by the government days after the last ownership changes," he added.
In September, after 14 years at the heart of Kenya’s oil exploration, Tullow Oil officially left the country, after finalising the sale of its assets to Gulf Energy Limited.
The Senator also pointed out an amendment that was made on a clause of the agreement, which expanded the definition of capital expenditure to accommodate labour, fuel, repairs, maintenance, hauling, mobilisation, supplies, materials, and even decommissioning costs.
Sifuna has further accused the Senate of undermining the Local Content Act, which was passed to ensure oil companies prioritise locally available labour, goods, and services, by exempting the Gulf.
"We don’t have leaders. We have dealers in government who don’t care about anything other than themselves," Sifuna said.
In a notice, the Senate, through its standing committee on Energy, invited the public to submit written memoranda on the Field Development Plan and Production Sharing Contracts as part of the ratification process of the project.
The public has been directed to give their feedback through email or hand delivery to the clerk of the Senate on or before Friday, January 16.
"The FDP and Product Sharing Contracts for Blocks T6 and 17 in South Lokichar, Turkana County, outline the proposed commercial development of six oil discoveries in the Lokichar Basin. The Plan and Contracts further detail infrastructure plans, environmental safeguards, community obligations, and projected national benefits," the notice read.
Tullow first came into the country in 2011 to spearhead oil exploration efforts after oil was discovered in Lokichar, Turkana. At the time, the exploration was done to make Kenya an oil producer and exporter.
However, since then, full production of oil in Kenya has not been achieved, mainly because the country lacks the necessary infrastructure. For instance, a steady pipeline to transport oil from Turkana to the coast for export has been a pressing problem for decades.
