This archive report was first published on 9 July 2020.
Published on July 9, 2020, a review of the route of the crude oil pipeline from Turkana County to Lamu has been initiated after the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) demanded the redesign of the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (Lapsett) due to encroachment on its lands in Garissa County.
Tullow Oil, along with its partners and the Government, has submitted a new plan to realign the pipeline, moving it away from the KDF land. The crude oil pipeline is a key investment expected to breathe life into the Lapsset corridor.
According to a document reviewing an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), the revision of the pipeline route followed a meeting between KDF and the Lapsset Corridor Development Authority (LCDA), which agreed to relocate the corridor.
“The pipeline route realignment in Garissa county deviates from the original line… the new pipeline alignment moves approximately three kilometres to the North of the original route and results in the shortening of the overall pipeline length by approximately one kilometre,” reads the addendum to the crude oil pipeline ESIA.
The crude oil pipeline will be one of the largest cost centres as Project Oil Kenya moves to its commercial development phase, with an estimated cost of Sh100 billion. The project faces major delays, and the companies have recently served the government with a force majeure notice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
