Kenya’s first oil truck leaves Turkana courtesy of Tullow Oil.
This marks the beginning of transport trials as Kenya moves closer to becoming an oil-producing country.
Tullow Oil Company says it will transport crude oil by road for the very first time under the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS) from Lokichar in Turkana to Mombasa.
“The company will have two trucks that will transport oil from Lokichar to Mombasa to check for logistics. Our aim is to test its reaction to different temperatures and to understand the amount of time it will take to get the oil to Mombasa,” said Tullow’s Communications Officer Dennis Okore.
Tullow said the trucking is a trial to check on the process and the logistics, but the real transportation of early oil will start next year. “This is just a trial version to check on the pressure, temperatures, viscosity and how much the refinery will take,” said Mr Okore.
“The road will be used by the trucks carrying oil to Eldoret. The oil will then be transported to Mombasa via train,” Okore added.
Kenya changed its strategy for transporting oil after Uganda pulled out of an earlier plan to build a joint pipeline and chose to build its pipeline in partnership with Tanzania instead.
The country decided to start transporting its early oil by road as it works on building it’s own pipeline.
The crude oil is expected to be stored in Mombasa until sufficient quantities for export are met.
Commercial production of oil is expected to start in 2020.
Initial estimates suggest that Kenya will make about Sh6.4 trillion from the Turkana oil find alone if commercial production starts on time.
Read: Tullow Oil to Resume Exploration in Turkana Reserves
Also read: We Will Build It Ourselves, Kenya Tells Uganda
A recent report suggests that the Turkana oil will be completely depleted by 2043. This gives production a maximum of 23 years. An Oxfam report suggests that the country will make on average of about Sh280 billion every year.
The news from Tullow, which has been exploring oil in Turkana and Elgeyo Marakwet counties, comes at a time when it concluded a successful first phase of drilling and appraisal of the South Lokichar basin.
The company has announced plans to continue drilling in four more wells in Lokichar.