The Kenyan Ministry of Energy has announced that 17 new oil exploration blocks have been added to the initial blocks, thereby bringing the total numbers of blocks created to 63.

The Ministry said these blocks will be auctioned in a licensing round in 2017.
“We gazetted 46 oil blocks in 2012. But after the new production sharing contracts, we agreed with companies to relinquish between 20 to 25 per cent of their blocks. This gave us a lot of acreage that we used to create the new blocks,” Martin Heya, the ministry's commissioner for Petroleum Energy, said.

According Energy Secretary Charles Keter, 37 of the blocks are situated in the Lamu basin, seven in the Anza basin, five in the Mandera basin, and 14 in the Tertiary Rift Basin.

Tullow Oil and Africa Oil discovered an estimated 750 million BO in South Lokichar in northwest Kenya in 2012. Ever since the find, interests in blocks in Kenya by explorers rose. The country hopes to increase revenues from the new blocks.

Africa Oil and Tullow were partners in blocks 10 BB and 13T in Lokichar, each with 50% interests. However, Africa Oil later sold a 25% interest in those blocks to A.P. Moller-Maersk.

Africa Oil and its partners plan to announce a final investment decision for production in early 2017.

Kenya has begun the process if constructing its own crude oil pipeline after efforts to collaborate with Uganda failed. The country is currently searching for consultants to perform an engineering design (Front End Engineering Design (FEED)) for the pipeline from Lokichar in Turkana to Lamu and another consultant to carry out an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA).
 

Anita Fatunji