M a r k e t N e w s
Kenya: Cabinet Okays Plans to Produce Crude Oil in Lokichar
Posted on : Wednesday, 24th August 2016
A special Cabinet meeting on Thursday approved plans to start production of 2,000-4,000 barrels of crude oil in Lokichar that will be transported by both rail and road to Mombasa for refining.
With the country getting ready to full commercial exploitation of oil, discovered in Turkana County by Tullow Oil in 2012, plans are in motion to establish business and infrastructure to market the product abroad.
Therefore, the government has started upgrading the Eldoret (Leseru) - Lokichar Road at a cost of Sh3.2 billion.
The meeting, chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta, also approved the development of the Lokichar to Lamu crude pipeline which will be the main transportation route for the oil from Kenya in the future.
In addition, the government also plans to replace the Kainuk Bridge to allow for larger and heavier trucks to transport the crude oil.
The first crude oil in Kenya will be refined at the Kenya Petroleum Refinery in Mombasa which has now been fully acquired by the government through the Kenya Pipeline Company.
President Uhuru Kenyatta chaired the special Cabinet meeting where they also approved ministerial budget priorities for the 2016/2017 financial year.
Furthermore, the Cabinet was briefed on the preparations for the forthcoming Tokyo International Conference of Africa's Development (TICAD 6) scheduled to take place in Nairobi later this month.
Source : allafrica.com
