Tullow Announces Ksh1.2 Billion Investment to Discover More Oil

Workers walk past storage tanks at Tullow Oil's Ngamia 8 drilling site in Lokichar, Turkana County.
Workers walk past storage tanks at Tullow Oil's Ngamia 8 drilling site in Lokichar, Turkana County.
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UK-based oil company, Tullow Oil, on Wednesday, January 25, announced plans to invest Ksh1.2 billion towards further production of oil to boost Kenya's hope of becoming an oil exporting country. 

The firm, which was contracted to lead in oil exploration activities in Turkana's Lokichar basin announced that the investment will be channelled towards fine-tuning the Field Development Plan, among other activities in Project Oil Kenya. 

Tullow Plc Chief Executive Officer Rahul Dhir affirmed his company's commitment to actualizing the framework of producing crude oil for commercialisation.

File photo on an oil field in South Lokichar in Turkana County
File photo on an oil field in South Lokichar in Turkana County
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However, Tullow was still looking for a strategic partner in the country with a statement from the London-based company indicating that the search was in progress. 

“Tullow continues to focus on the process to secure a strategic partner for the development project in Kenya. In parallel, Tullow and its JV Partners are working with the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Commission Authority (EPRA) and the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to finalise the FDP," the CEO noted. 

According to the company, proceeds from early sales of crude oil from Kenya amounted to over Ksh400 million in 2022.

It further committed to investing an additional Ksh3.7 billion in the exploration and experiments of Kenyan fields. 

However, the plans by Tullow oil of executing the development plan in exploring oil in Kenya are subject to the approval of parliament. 

Tullow controls a substantive interest in the oil fields discovered in Turkana and has been at the centre of extraction activities in the Northern Kenya County since 2012.

However, the breakthrough of the London Stock Exchange-listed company has experienced several setbacks occasioned by delays.

In 2022, the company reached out to the government seeking an extension of the deadline within which it was required to submit the field development plan. 

This even as Kenya looked forward to realizing the goal of being an oil exporter amid surging fuel prices in the global market.

In the latest price review by EPRA, fuel prices remained unchanged with pressure piling on the government to lower the essential commodity which affects a number of sectors in the economy. 

File photo of EPRA Director General Daniel Kiptoo
EPRA Director General Daniel Kiptoo speaking at a conference in Nairobi in 2022.
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EPRA
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