This archive report was first published on 1 August 2019.
On Thursday, Kenya made history by becoming an oil exporting country, with the first deal worth Sh1.3 billion.
According to President Uhuru Kenyatta, the country's first oil export consisted of 200,000 barrels, valued at $12 million.
Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, President Kenyatta expressed confidence that the oil trade would help grow the economy and end poverty.
"We are now an oil exporter. Our first deal was concluded this afternoon with 200,000 barrels at a price of $12 million," President Kenyatta announced.
State House spokesperson Kanze Dena declined to disclose the buyer, stating that the details were not yet available.
The oil production statistics were disclosed by London-based Tullow Oil, which has exploration and oilfields in Turkana.
Tullow Oil reported that 200,000 barrels of oil had been safely delivered to Mombasa, with the company expecting East Africa's first export cargo of oil to be sold and lifted in the third quarter of 2019.
The oil stocks were valued at Sh1.3 billion based on the international crude oil prices of about $63 (Sh6,500) per barrel.
The export is intended to test the international markets' reception of Kenya's low-sulphur oil ahead of commercial production, which is estimated to start in the second half of 2023.
Tullow has been moving the oil by road to Mombasa, with the company increasing the volume from 600 barrels per day to 2,000 in May.
