Kenya will start for companies to design a crude oil export pipeline costing some $2.1 billion and which should be completed by 2021. This is according to Energy and Petroleum minister Charles Keter.
Tullow Oil and partner Africa Oil first struck oil in Lokichar in northwest Kenya in 2012 and Keter said the pipeline between Lokichar and Lamu on Kenya’s coast would be 891 km long.
“In our estimation, if all goes well, the pipeline should (be ready) in the second quarter of 2021,” he said. “The capex, I mean the cost, which can either come down or up, is $2.1 billion,” Mr Keter told reporters.
Picking a route for the pipelines is vital for the oil companies’ final investment decisions on developing Uganda’s and Kenya’s reserves, which are among a string of oil and gas finds on Africa’s east coast.
Tullow Oil said on Thursday the recoverable reserves from its activities in Kenya totalled an estimated 750 million barrels, up from 600 million barrels previously.
