Early oil trials set for June 3

Early oil trials set for June 3

Kenya is set to start transporting oil to Mombasa next month as part of the early oil pilot scheme (EOPS).

The project comes after close to a year’s delay after initial plans were scuttled as the government failed to secure the goodwill of Turkana county leaders and residents.

But having agreed to a new revenue share deal that will see the government get 75 percent of the proceeds of crude oil sales with Turkana County  getting 25 percent and five percent to the local community, it’s all systems go.

President Uhuru Kenyatta will on June 3, flag off the first trucks moving 2,000 barrels of crude oil from oil fields in Lokichar on their 1,000 kilometer journey to the Kenya Petroleum Refinery Limited (KPRL) facilities in Mombasa.

“We are ready to get started. This is important for our country as a whole, and for the community in the producing area,” President Kenyatta said.

Sources at the Ministry of Mining and petroleum say the most feasible date for the first export batch will be in January.

The ministry is yet to reveal which refinery it will be sending its crude to.

The roll out of road transport was agreed on following a meeting between President Kenyatta with British oil explorer Tullow, Africa Oil and Total SA who form the joint venture for Kenya’s crude oil.

Tullow had by last year stored up to 70,000 barrels of crude oil in Lokichar, awaiting transport to Mombasa.

The British oil company has already awarded trucking contracts to Multiple Hauliers and Oilfield Movers to supply 50 trucks for the project.

Primefuels Kenya was awarded a contract to supply ‘tanktainers’ specialized transport containers to move the crude oil.

Kenya’s crude is waxy and requires constant heat to keep it in a fluid state.

The evacuation of crude oil will enable Tullow to carry out further well tests and set up production facilities at the oil sites.

Initial evacuation plans had entailed the transport of crude by road to Eldoret and subsequently by train to Mombasa.

Tags:

Uhuru kenyatta Mombasa Tullow Oil turkana Africa Oil Total transport EOPS early oil evacuation ministry of mining and petroleum

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