Energy ministry begins search for locals with oil sector skills
What you need to know:
- Kenya is among countries endowed with natural gas and crude oil but it has delayed in adopting the necessary measures to guarantee local participation in the sector.
- The new undertaking by the ministry comes a few months after the government negotiated a $50 million (about Sh4.3 billion) loan from the World Bank to train workers on management of petroleum resources.
The process of collecting information on locals with specialised training and skills to serve in the fast developing oil and gas sector has started.
In an advertisement on Monday, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum said the move was intended to boost local participation in oil and gas exploration and production, following successful discoveries of the resource.
It said that this was on the basis of the current heightened interest in petroleum and exploration activities, adding “there exists promising prospects for more discoveries… The ministry would like to build a national database of nationals who have specialised skills in upstream operations.”
Kenya is among countries endowed with natural gas and crude oil but it has delayed in adopting the necessary measures to guarantee local participation in the sector.
“There is an information gap in the industry. We need legislation and policy that encourage firms operating in the upstream space to use local skills and services,” said Mr Mwendia Nyaga, chief executive officer of Oil & Energy Services Ltd, a local consultancy.
PRODUCTION TARGET
The new undertaking by the ministry comes a few months after the government negotiated a $50 million (about Sh4.3 billion) loan from the World Bank to train workers on management of petroleum resources. The target for production of the oil is 2018.
The training will be on formulation and drafting of a comprehensive petroleum policy, geotechnical data acquisition, processing and interpretation, oil revenue administration, revenue saving mechanisms and local skills development.
“In two years, there will be a lot of activity in the oil sector. We are fast tracking the required infrastructure to support monetisation of the resource,” said Energy principal secretary Joseph Njoroge.
He was referring to the planned construction of a crude oil pipeline between Lamu and Uganda oil fields through Lokichar.
Since the first oil discovery in 2012, government records put the amount of resources found so far at above 600 million barrels, which industry insiders say meet the minimum threshold for production.
The governments of Kenya and Uganda have already announced their intention of jointly setting up a pipeline from Hoima through Lokichar to Lamu, to fast track production of crude oil.
A search for a consultant to design the pipeline is ongoing. Several firms, including oil and gas exploration companies in upstream sectors of both countries, have shown interest in the bid.
