A senior official at the petroleum ministry revealed today that crude oil deposits so far discovered in Kenya are insufficient to allow the building of a refinery.
Kenya currently exports no crude but discovered commercial oil reserves in its Lokichar basin in Turkana county in 2012 and Tullow Oil estimates the basin to contain an estimated 560 million barrels in so-called 2C proven and probable oil reserves.
It is proven the world over that a refinery would make money only when it has a refining capacity of at least 400,000 barrels a day, Andrew Kamau, principal secretary at the petroleum and mining ministry, told reporters.
Tullow has said this would translate to 60,000 to 100,000 barrels per day of gross production which is lower to guarantee the construction of a refinery and the government may resort to other measures instead.
The first consignment of crude oil destined for export from Kenya was flagged off on 3rd June 2018 and the project is believed to become a major contributor to the nation’s economy. With the discovery of oil and gas in Uganda and Tanzania and the ongoing explorations in Ethiopia and DRC, Kenya finds itself in the company of other resourceful African nations.