Kenyan oil dream takes blow with oil company leaving


By Kenneth Oduor,

NAIROBI, Kenya- Kenya’s dream of being a producer of oil was given a major blow as one the Australian oil companies that have been searching for oil exploration wells in the country pulled out. The Australian oil firm, Woodside Petroleum pulled out its equipment from the country’s coastal region where it has been prospecting for oil.

The company said through its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) that it was pulling out of Kenya and three other African countries to concentrate on the production of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
The company’s efforts to find oil in Kenya hit a dead end when their oil wells in Kenya turned dry. Their search was however successful in other two African countries namely Libya and Mauritania.
“We want to restructure our exploration portfolio to focus mainly on LNG business and other more lucrative energy areas”, said the company CEO Don Voelte.

There has been an increasing demand for Liquefied Natural Gas especially in developed and industrial nations due to global pressure on those countries to shift to other energy sources that are friendlier to the environment.
The Kenyan government however downplayed the move by the oil company saying it would not dampen the country’s spirit to go on with oil search and exploration.
“Woodside exit has no implications on the country at all. We still have other energy companies in the country who we as a government will partner with very closely”, said the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy, Patrick Nyoike.

He dismissed claims that the Woodside pull out was due to political interference saying the move was purely on business decision and had nothing to do with politics.
“The move is purely on business grounds and geopolitics”, said the permanent Secretary.
Woodside CEO said that there was an increasing demand for Liquefied Natural Gas and his company will seize the opportunity to venture into that area. He said the company is already engaging with buyers from Asia to buy its LNG products.

Other companies remaining in Kenya to explore oil include china’s state owned CNOOC Ltd and Australia based oil exploring company Gippsland Offshore Petroleum.
“Kenya has high petroleum prospectivity, attractive government commercial terms, proximity to the growing East African region and this gives our company a great portfolio”, said Gippsland Offshore in its company brochures.
The company is to start the mapping of drillable sites in Kenya next month. It said that with its partner Pancontinental Oil and Gas, they would move into the next phase requiring the drilling of two oil wells within four years if sustainable drill targets are identified. •