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Neighbouring Uganda is poised to join the oil exporting league giving it economic advantage over Kenya whose Turkana oilfields prospect is still in limbo.

This is after President Yoweri Museveni launched the drilling process at the Kingfisher oil field on the shores of Lake Albert, to be operated by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

The field has a production capacity of 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) and will be drilled at the same time with the 190,000 bpd Tilenga oil field operated by TotalEnergies. Both sites will enable Uganda to produce 230,000 bpd.

Environmentalists

The projects which had faced environmental setbacks from the EU Parliament and environmentalists last year got the backing of China’s ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong, saying the EU bloc “should not use the excuse of environmental and human rights issues to block development” of the oilfields and the oil pipeline”.

Details of how Uganda plans to transport the commodity to the international market are still scanty, even as they await the commissioning of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in 2025 that will run between Hoima and the Tanzanian port of Tanga.

The Ugandan Cabinet has however approved construction of the $3.5 billion (Sh434.7 billion) 1,443 km, 24 inch diameter project.

In Kenya, Tullow says it is in the process to secure a strategic partner for the development project in Kenya.

“Tullow and its JV Partners are working with the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Commission Authority (EPRA) and the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to finalise the FID,” said Tullow Oil in its latest report.

Delay of the much awaited final investment decision between Joint Venture Partners (JVP) London-listed Tullow Oil, French-based TotalEnergies, Canada’s Africa Oil and the Kenya Government on the South Lokichar project is also stalling the project.

To this end, the approval of the EACOP by Uganda’s parliament puts Uganda in poll position in exporting the commodity, as Kenya’s JVP are still searching for a strategic investor to construct Kenya’s 852 kilometres Lokichar to Lamu Crude Oil Project (LLCOP) to transport the product from the South Lokichar oil fields.

In August last year, Tullow Oil and its partners held talks with two Indian firms- India oil Corporation (IOCL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) over the sale of their Kenya’ stake in a deal that would involve raising $3.4 billion (Sh401 billion) the projects requires in its commercial phase. The money raised would be used to construct an oil processing plant in Lokichar and the crude pipeline