Magadi oil, gas hunt starts with call for tenders

State-owned oil marketer National Oil Corporation has placed an international tender for acquisition of seismic data in Block 14T in Magadi basin ahead of a planned drilling programme.

In a statement, NOCK said the data will enable the company to establish the hydrocarbon potential of the block, which will inform exploration models to be employed in the region should a possibility of oil or natural gas deposits be established.

Exploration models

“Acquisition of the data is part of the ongoing preparatory works in readiness for drilling in the area. The acquisition of seismic data is a key step in establishing the hydrocarbon potential of the block and its outcome will be utilised to improve basin study related hydrocarbon exploration models of the region,” said NOCK’s managing director Sumayya Athmani in a statement.

A seismic survey is an exploration method that captures information on the various rock formations below the earth’s surface with a view to helping geoscientists identify possible hydrocarbon deposits.

The presence of hydrocarbon deposits is an indicator that an exploration area could contain either natural gas or oil deposits.

Block 14T is located in the Magadi Basin, south of Block 10BB, within the Tertiary Rift Basin.

In March last year, British oil explorer Tullow Oil Plc made the first oil discovery in Kenya in Block 10BB at Ngamia-1 well.

The discovery has since been followed by two others — of oil and natural gas deposits — placing the country a notch higher in becoming an oil producing nation.

Attracted interest

With recent oil and gas discoveries, Kenya has attracted interest from international exploration companies, prompting the Energy ministry to revise its regulations guiding the issuance of exploration blocks.

In the new laws, companies will now be engaged in a public auction for blocks, meaning that only the highest bidders will be awarded exploration licences, contrary to the first-come-first-served system that has previously been used to award licences.

This, according to officials at the ministry of Energy will allow the government to tap more revenue from exploration activities.