This archive report was first published on 2 August 2019.
On August 2, 2019, Kenya made history by joining the league of Africa's oil-exporting nations. The country's first consignment of 200,000 barrels of crude oil was sold for $12 million, marking a significant milestone in the country's oil production journey.
The oil was sold at $60 per barrel, a price that is nearly 40% above the government's break-even point of $43 per barrel set for the Early Oil Pilot Scheme. This achievement is a testament to the country's growing oil industry and its potential to contribute to the economy.
President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the breakthrough on Twitter, expressing confidence that the oil trade would help grow the economy and end poverty. He stated, "We are now an oil exporter."
He also emphasized the importance of utilizing the country's oil resources effectively to make Kenya both prosperous and poverty-free. "So, I think we have started the journey and it is up to us to ensure that those resources are put to the best use to make our country both prosperous and to ensure we eliminate poverty," he said.
The oil production statistics were disclosed by London-based Tullow Oil, which has exploration and oilfields in Turkana. The company stated that 200,000 barrels of oil had been safely delivered to Mombasa and expected East Africa's first export cargo of oil to be sold and lifted in the third quarter of 2019.
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, increasing the volume from 600 barrels per day to 2,000 in May.
