Kenya-president-Mwai-Kibaki |
Kenya's president
has announced that oil has been discovered in his East African nation for the
first time, and a foreign oil firm said the find is similar to the valuable
light crude previously discovered in neighbouring Uganda.
President Mwai
Kibaki cautioned on Monday that commercial viability of the oil find in the
northwest Turkana region is still uncertain, but he welcomed the news, calling
it "a major breakthrough".
"This is the
first time Kenya has made such a discovery and it is very good news for our
country," Kibaki said.
"It is,
however, the beginning of a long journey to make our country an oil producer,
which typically takes in excess of three years."
British firm Tullow announced its first oil discovery in Kenya, saying it was found in the north of the country |
Tullow Oil, which
is carrying out oil exploration in the region and has a 50 per cent interest in
multiple sites in Kenya and Ethiopia, said that 20 metres of net oil pay was
discovered at a site called Ngamia-1 in Kenya's Turkana County.
High-quality
oil
The oil discovered
in northwest Kenya is considered to be high-quality oil that will yield more
gasoline and diesel per barrel than some other crude discoveries in Africa.
Tullow's
exploration director, Angus McCoss, called the discovery an "excellent
start" to Tullow's exploration campaign in the rift basins of Kenya and
Ethiopia.
"To make a
good oil discovery in our first well is beyond our expectations and bodes well
for the material program ahead of us," McCoss said in a statement, adding
that the firm is working with Kenya's government and plans on further seismic
and drilling activities.
The oil find was
near the border with Uganda and South Sudan. Both of those countries have oil
industries.
Many in Sudan,
which recently saw its southern portion secede after a vote in January 2011,
consider oil a "curse" for the conflicts and exploitation they said
it brings to the region.
Bitterly fighting
over land and oil, violence continues between Sudan and South Sudan, with
clashes breaking out in several disputed border regions on Monday.
African
neighbours
Tullow said many
other prospective sites similar to Ngamia have been identified, and echoing
Kibaki, Tullow spokesman George Cazenove sought to stress that Kenya, which is
fighting a serious economic slump, was only at the beginning of a long process.
He noted that oil
was first discovered in neighbouring Uganda in 2006 and has not yet reached the
production stage. Though Uganda will get some oil to market next year,
production won't reach full speed until 2016, he said.
"I think
Uganda provides a helpful parallel," Cazenove said. "There's a lot
more work to do before we talk about how we get this to production and how it
would affect Kenya as a nation.''
Kiraitu Murungi,
Kenya's energy minister, was quoted by Kenya's leading newspaper, the Daily
Nation, as saying that Tullow informed him that Kenya's oil deposits could be
bigger than Uganda's.
Cazenove declined
to directly comment on Murungi's claim but said that Uganda's and Kenya's oil
potential are similar.
Tullow said the
Ngamia well was drilled to 1,041 metres and would now be drilled to about 2,700
metres, a process that will be completed in May. The type of oil found in the
Ngmia, light and waxy, has a low density and flows freely at room temperature.
Light crude is more valuable than heavy crude.
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