Oil search gains momentum

• Australian company joins growing list of explorers erecting rigs at Kenyan coast

Years after Kenya launched an off-shore oil exploration bid, multinational companies are still erecting rigs deep in the sea with the hope of striking the black diamond.

The latest entrant into the turbulent waters is Origin Energy (K) Limited, a subsidiary of Original Energy Limited, Australia.

The company is currently assembling a rig to explore Bloc L8 for oil and gas, 100 nautical miles east of Malindi.

The chief geologist in the Ministry of Energy, Mr John Omenge, told journalists at Eden Roc Hotel in Malindi on Thursday: “When you look at the zeal and enthusiasm displayed by these companies, you know it is not for nothing.”

Mr Omenge said there was a lot of hope that the companies would strike oil soon, and urged the relevant government departments to cooperate with the company so that it realised its objectives.

Huge reserves

He said Tanzania, which lies within the same Indian Ocean Basin as Kenya, had discovered huge reserves of gas, adding that it was almost automatic that the Kenyan Coast had similar reserves.

The Origin Energy (K) Ltd Company operations coordinator Neil Taylor said the survey and exploration programme could begin in November or December.

“It’s a US$ 10 million-dollar programme (about Sh760 million) that will take six weeks to complete,” said Mr Taylor, adding that a special ship for the job was expected in the country in the next few days.

Origin Energy has completed a similar survey in Bloc 9. The blocs have separate licences for exploration from the government and each covers about 700 square nautical miles. The company will use the 3D Sysmic Survey method for the study.

Environmental issues

Mr Taylor said environmental issues had been taken care of after the company held a meeting with environmental stakeholders earlier in the week.

“They survey will be carried out very carefully,” he said. “The process is designed in such a way that it does not interfere with the ecosystem.”

Mr Taylor raised concern over insecurity at the sea, but Malindi district commissioner Arthur Mugira assured the exploration company that tight security would be in place.