INTERNATIONAL - Kenya is expected to begin oil exports in the third quarter 2019, British firm Tullow oil said on Wednesday.
Mark MacFarlane, executive vice president for east Africa of Tullow Oil, said in a statement that in May the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS) production was increased from 600 barrels of oil per day (bopd) to 2,000 bopd and, to date, more than 200,000 barrels of oil have been delivered to the port of Mombasa.
"Tullow expects east Africa's first export cargo of oil to be sold and lifted in the third quarter of 2019," MacFarlane said.
In 2012, Tullow oil discovered commercial oil deposits in the east African nation that are currently estimated at 750 million barrels.
The EOPS is being undertaken by the Kenya joint venture partners comprising of Tullow Oil, Africa Oil and Total Oil and the Kenyan government who own the Blocks 10BB and 13T in northwest Kenya.
MacFarlane said that in the first half of the year, front end engineering design (FEED) studies for both the upstream and midstream have been finalized.
He added that these studies, together with recent market soundings, have given the joint venture partners greater confidence in the project's estimated capital expenditure and construction timetable that is expected to see first oil three years after the final investment decision (FID).
He noted that the upstream and midstream environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs) are expected to be submitted to the National Environmental Management Agency by the end of the third quarter 2019.