Kenya signs oil exploration contract with UK firm
The Kenyan government has signed an oil exploration contract with a United Kingdom-based company, Energy Minister
Francis Masakhalia has said. The minister was quoted as saying the UK firm will explore two potential oil blocks in
Kwale and Lamu districts in south-eastern Kenya, both along the Indian Ocean. Masakhalia told the Parliament that the
exploration will be both offshore and onshore of the Indian Ocean.
Due to a prolonged severe drought, Kenya has experienced the power shortfall, resulting in the power rationing
introduced since September last year. The minister said his government has taken various measures to address the
power shortfall situation, including oil, coal and geothermal and wind exploration, and hydropower imports from
Uganda and southern Africa through Tanzania. According to Kenyan Vice President George Saitoti, there is likelihood
of oil deposits existing in the Kenya-Sudan border.
Oil exploration has been going on in Kenya since colonial times but only one of the efforts has yielded deposits
worth exploration.
