Tullow Kenya together with its joint venture partners, Total and Africa Oil, on Tuesday, June 2, announced that the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS) contract with the National Government had come to an end.
The British oil explorer had been running operations in Turkana over the last two years.
“The Early Oil Pilot Scheme has provided important lessons for the planning and execution of the Full Field Development phase of Project Oil Kenya. By producing, transporting, storing and exporting crude oil from Northern Kenya, the pilot scheme has provided proof of concept for oil production in Kenya.
"The first export of crude oil from East Africa in 2019 was a historic achievement and clearly demonstrated the potential of Project Oil Kenya on world markets.” Mark MacFarlane, Chief Operations Officer (COO) of Tullow Oil plc stated.
EOPS served its purpose as a pilot project by providing critical technical data, logistical and operational experience and training.
This was aimed at assisting the National and County Governments and the joint venture partners on the journey towards Full Field Development (FFD).
"The pilot scheme has allowed Kenya's oil to be marketed and established on world markets thereby giving local entrepreneurs an opportunity to participate in crude oil transportation with key focus on industry-safe practices.
"In addition, critical local infrastructure, including local roads and the Kainuk bridge, have been significantly improved as part of EOPS," reads an excerpt from the press statement issued by Tullow Oil.
The giant oil explorer had hinted at bowing out of the Kenyan market through a statement issued on May 15, which announced that its stay in the country was not assured post-Covid-19.
In its 'forward-looking information', the corporation announced that its stay or departure would be informed by ongoing negotiations with the government, but was not certain that the discussions would yield much fruit.
"There is no certainty such discussions with the Government of Kenya will result in a satisfactory outcome and may result in the company's Kenyan project being significantly modified or ceased in its entirety.
"Such statements and information (together, "forward-looking statements") relate to future events or the company's future performance, business prospects or opportunities," Africa Oil Corp's statement read in part.
