This archive report was first published on 13 December 2019.
Heavy rains in Turkana County have caused significant damage to roads, forcing a halt to crude oil trucking to Mombasa.
According to sources, Tullow Oil, which operates the 100-truck fleet, has been unable to transport crude oil for nearly 10 days due to impassable roads, particularly around Marich Pass.
"The roads have been impassable especially around Marich Pass where a section of the road has been completely swept off. Trucking may have to wait until the area is dry or when the road is repaired, which may take longer," a source from Tullow Oil said, seeking anonymity.
The Ministry of Mining and Petroleum had planned to double the shipment of crude oil from Turkana in the first quarter of 2020, with a target of 500,000 barrels in March 2020, twice the volume shipped during the inaugural sale in August.
However, Petroleum Principal Secretary Andrew Kamau remained optimistic about the trucking plan, stating, "We have not received any report of a significant effect to the trucking plan to the March 2020 target. You can find out about that from Tullow but we remain positive that we will still achieve the target,"
