This archive report was first published on 6 June 2020.
Published on June 6, 2020, taxpayers in Kenya have lost $2 million to the crude oil trucking scheme that expired last week after galloping $14 million.
The loss is expected to grow further as another 100,000 barrels stored in tanks at the Kenya Petroleum Refinery Ltd in Mombasa will attract storage charges for an unknown period.
Despite British firm Tullow Oil announcing the expiry of the early oil pilot scheme (EOPS), the National Treasury has allocated Ksh240 million ($2.2 million) to the Ministry of Petroleum earmarked for "early monetisation of first oil project."
According to budget allocations documents, the Ministry of Petroleum had requested for Ksh370 million ($3.4 million) in the 2020/21 budget, which has been slashed by Ksh130 million ($1.2 million).
Since the launch of the controversial scheme, the government has maintained that all the costs burden were the responsibility of Tullow.
The expiry of the contract has ignited tensions in Turkana county, where local communities were among the beneficiaries, albeit in small ways.
Efforts to reach Petroleum Cabinet Secretary John Munyes and Principal Secretary Andrew Kamau proved futile after they failed to respond to our telephone calls.
Despite marketing the scheme as critical in introducing Kenya's crude to the international market, the project has expired with only one consignment of 240,000 barrels being exported, yet the target was to export at least two consignments in two years.
For the three private companies contracted to transport the crude via road from Lokichar in Turkana to Mombasa, the scheme has been a money-minting project.
"We came out clearly that the EOPS was a loss-making venture and a burden to the taxpayers. This has come to pass," said Charles Wanguhu, Kenya Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas co-ordinator.
