This archive report was first published on 26 August 2019.
On August 26, 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta made history by flagging off Kenya's first crude oil shipment at the port of Mombasa, marking the country's entry into the league of oil-exporting nations.
The inaugural shipment consisted of 200,000 barrels of Turkana crude oil, valued at Sh1.3 billion based on international crude oil prices of about $63 (Sh6,500) per barrel.
The small-scale export was 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.
British oil explorer Tullow had been transporting the crude by road to Mombasa, increasing the volume from 600 barrels per day to 2,000 in May.
President Kenyatta had announced on August 1 that Kenya had struck a deal with an oil exporter, but the buyer remained undisclosed.
At the flagging off ceremony, Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary John Munyes were in attendance.
