Kenya discovers oil shores in northern region

Kenya on Wednesday announced that it has discovered good oil shores in the Kerio Valley in northern Kenya.

Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum Charles Keter told journalists in Nairobi that oil exploration firm Tullow Oil discovered oil deposits while drilling at Cheptuket area.

"Tullow oil has encountered good oil shores just two weeks ago and so they still have to conduct further testing to confirm the size of the oil resources. It will take time before we can confirm if the oil deposits are commercially viable," he said.

Tullow Oil has already discovered approximately 600 million barrels of oil in the Lokichar Basin in northern Kenya.

Keter said he is optimistic that the Kenya-Uganda oil pipeline project will proceed as planned.

"We have already given Uganda incentives including charging them a lower tariff compared to what Kenyan oil will be charged to move the product to the sea," he said.

According to the government official, the pipeline will be more cost effective if developed jointly with Uganda.

The objective of the well was to establish a working petroleum system and test a structural closure in the southwestern part of the basin.

Tullow Exploration Director Angus McCoss said the strong oil shows encountered in Cheptuket-1 indicate the presence of an active petroleum system with significant oil generation.

"This is the most significant well result to date in Kenya outside the South Lokichar basin. Encountering strong oil shows across such a large interval is very encouraging indeed," he added. Endit