Kenya Discovers More Oil

Humphrey Liloba All Africa Global Media

Kenya inched closer to joining the league of Africa's oil producing countries with an announcement by British explorer Tullow that it had discovered another well in the sun wretched Turkana Country, northern Kenya.

A statement from the company last week said it had discovered more oil deposits at Twiga South-1 exploration well, located on Block 13T in in the region.

The new find lies within a distance of about 30km from the first ever discovery in Ngamia-1 well earlier this year. The news heightened excitement across the country with the prospects of easing the biting fuel costs seeming in sight.

Then explorers have however cautioned against runaway excitement as the company will need to establish the commercial viability of the find before entering the next phase of mining. This could as well take a couple of years.

The announcement also came after heightened media speculation of an oil find bigger that the initial deposits.

"Following media speculation in Kenya, Tullow Oil plc (Tullow) announces that the Twiga South-1 exploration well has successfully encountered oil. We will continue with the exploration efforts even as we establish the commercial viability of the deposits." read the statement in part.

The company also promised to make a big announcement about their oil exploration efforts in mid-November in what pundits say could be a turning point in the decades-long elusive search for oil in the East Africa economic powerhouse.

This announcement according to the statement will be made jointly with Africa Oil Corp who are 50 per cent stakeholders in the exploration exercise with Tullow Oil.

The Kenyan government has engaged communities living around Turkana where the oil finds are concentrated in efforts to prepare them for a possible relocation should the deposits prove economically viable.

Negotiations between the government and the communities are also aimed at forestalling any community clashes. The area has throughout the years been characterized by cattle rustling and fighting among the Turkana and Marakwet protagonist communities.

According to the company timelines availed to media, the drilling is expected to continue to a total depth of 3,114 meters in the next two weeks and targets the same structural layers and reservoirs as the Ngamia-1 oil well.

The company is also drilling another well, Paipai-1, which has a planned total depth of 4,112 metres, in northern Kenya's Marsabit County on Block 10 A.

Kenya has heavily invested in oil exploration efforts in the recent years and hopes of some light at the end of the tunnel we heightened with the Ngamia 1 find.

The Ministry of Energy has also received several applications from multinationals for exploration licenses especially with the developments of early in the year when the first deposits were located.

The government is also said to be minting billions from the exploration licence charges. Recent media reports indicated that between February and July this year, the government made an estimated $1.2 billion from the same.