Author: admin

By Rita Maina FACT:Tullow Plc released its 2021 half-year results on 15 th September 2021 and overall showed itscommitment to continue pursuing the Kenyan project. The major update is that Tullow and itsJoint Venture (JV) partners are actively seeking a strategic partner before the final investmentdecision. They are currently looking for investors who would like access to the East Africa oiland gas upstream and midstream projects. In a bid to improve the investment prospects of theproject, they have included an additional field, Ekales, in the 1 st phase of the project. Theprevious development plans only had Twiga, Amosing, and Ngamia fields (TAN). The ongoingtechnical work in Ekales and strategic location which is between Ngamia and Twiga allows it tobe easily incorporated in the first phase. The 1 st phase will…

By Michelle Makena With the current trend in rise of energy resources in Kenya, it is safe to predict a further rise in electricity bills and fuel prices in oncoming months. In August, Kenyans paid Ksh.24.77 for a kilowatt of electricity consumed. In the month of September this has risen to Ksh.26.57 per unit of power. When we take a look at the petroleum prices, Kenyans are facing agony after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority heightened super petrol by Ksh.7.58 per litre. With the current national economy, this is a sharp rise that will press hard on Kenyans who are already struggling. Candidly, switching to more sustainable energy practices is the way to go if we do not wish to have a long-lasting negative impact on the Kenyan economy.…

By Charles Wanguhu The cabinet secretary for petroleum and mining has issued notices to terminate contractsissued to six oil and gas exploration companies within the Lamu Basin.According to media reports, these notices were issued on the 27 th of August 2021, citing failureof the companies to meet their obligations as outlined in their respective petroleumagreements. These companies are Zarara Oil and Gas, Octant Energy, A-Z Petroleum Products,Simba Africa Rift Energy, Lamu Oil and Gas, and Milio/Castac Oil.We have not had access to the termination notices but as per section 25 of the Petroleum Act,one of the reasons the Cabinet Secretary may terminate petroleum agreements at theexploration stage would be failure by the exploring company to meet their minimum work andexpenditure obligations.Firstly, it is crucial that companies that have exited and…

By Emmaqulate Kemunto The Constitution of Kenya provides for the following rights and principles which are crucial for a sustainable oil and gas sector in Kenya: transparency, accountability, democracy, participation of the people, right of access to information, right to a clean and healthy environment; right to property. Although there has been some progress in their implementation and enforcement since 2010, much still needs to be done as highlighted below: Participation of the People Over the years, judicial bodies have increasingly upheld the central role of public participation in sustainable natural resource and environmental decision-making, landmark decisions being the Lamu Coal Plant and the LAPSSET decisions. The 2010 Katiba has been central in ensuring the protection of environmental rights as evidenced by the Lamu Coal Plant decision. However, much remains…

By Rita Maina Eni and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining signed a memorandum of understanding to promote climate change initiatives and a circular economy in Kenya through a Bio-fuel production value chain. Bioenergy is an emerging trend to solve the current decrease of the world petroleum reserves and the environmental challenges associated with the resource. There are similarities between biorefining and oil refining with the major difference being the raw material for oil refining comes from fossil fuels. The main aim is to produce products that can replace oil refining products that are used globally in various industries.In light of this, exactly what is a biorefinery? According to the International Energy Agency, a biorefinery is the sustainable processing of biomass into a spectrum of marketable bio-based products (chemicals, materials)…

By Emmaqulate Moranga “Recently we saw trucks transport oil from Lokichar to Mombasa but where are yet to receiveour 5% share. Where is our money?”. These were some of the questions which dominated ourTurkana County workshop.Oil and gas projects are usually commissioned with promises of manna to the localcommunities. The commencement of these projects depicts economic and other social benefitsto communities. With these promises, communities will have expectations on how their liveswill change for he better. One particular form of benefit is the 5% share, provided for under thepetroleum Act . The 5 % is a share of the national government’s profits derived from upstreampetroleum operations.Why are local communities owed benefits?Natural resources are held in trust by the Government for the people of Kenya, who shouldthen benefit from their exploitation.…