Date Posted: 6/23/2013 12:29:54 PM
Posted By: BrianL7 Membership Level: Gold Total Points: 2289
Oil in Kenya has sparked interest everywhere around the world and we see companies from all over even the ones personally I have never heard of (I am speaking for myself) coming to invest their billions here so that they can get a piece of the cake. But I think where the spark has really ignited is here in Kenya. It is indeed a discovery that has been long due and we have waited for it with anticipation, it is going to change lives. Or is it? The question remains whether we will end up like the filthy rich Arabs of the east in Dubai-whose water is more expensive than their oil-and who have super cars gracing their streets like the way matatus and pikipikis do here and the tall buildings they have that if one was to get to the top floor of any of them, they would be able to see the neighboring country. I don’t know, maybe we will end up there, or will we end up like Nigeria, Syria or even Israel, who have ended up fighting just because of the discovery of oil and the wealth it brings. I do not know either. I do hope the former happens, then I can finally be able to drive my super car around town without the fear of being robbed as everyone else would own one. Now to serious matters: oil in Kenya. Kenya is likely to start producing oil in six to seven years; the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected. I do not know how they came to this conclusion, but they are the experts and they know how to do their math.However, this is not the news that we are all too glad to hear, and you want to know why? In a new report published after consultations with government officials, the fund terms Kenya’s recent oil discoveries in northern Turkana as “commercial”, a term that both government officials and the exploration firms have used only sparingly to avoid raising public expectations too high. This is to avoid Kenyans hoping that the oil discovery will help us and lift us out of poverty and into money heights.“Big oil discoveries in the northern Turkana region have now made Kenya a major venue for oil exploration in East Africa,” this is according to a report by IMF, and indeed Kenya is the entry all companies use to enter into East Africa and Africa as a whole.To assess economic performance, IMF representatives held a 10-day consultation with Kenya as part of regular reviews. This is just how thorough IMF is, when it comes to money matters, especially when it will affect them in one way or another.The discovery of commercially viable oil reserves made in May 2012 in the Tertiary Rift by Tullow Oil has led to the entry of major foreign oil companies all after one thing, profitability. Indeed, it I had a major company and I need a long term investment, I would jump on the same bandwagon and hope I can make a killing on this investment.Last month alone, Tullow said it had achieved close to commercial quantities of oil in Twiga South-1 well.In February this year, the company said it had “successfully completed (tests) with a cumulative flow rate of 2,812 barrels per day…the first potentially commercial flow rates achieved in Kenya.”At the Ngamia-1 well in Block 10BB in Kenya, the first of six drill stem tests has now been completed but further tests are ongoing to determine commercial viability. Tullow has, however, not declared quantities confirmed so far as being commercially viable, saying it is still conducting more tests.But with all this happening what does this mean for Kenyans? What does it mean for the economy? Does it now mean that we can now start packing our bags and leave Poverty behind and had for “Canaan” or does it mean that we are still leagues away from achieving our dreams and goals? I do not have the answers to this unfortunately. Wish I did. But I do know that we should not put all our eggs I one basket and hope that all the chicks that hatch will cure all the diseases that ail us.The discovery of oil has indeed been a positive thing for Kenya and just goes to show that this is bright for our future. 700 jobs have been created by the company in Turkana alone and counting. So we now hope that jobs alone are not the only thing that we will benefit from this. Also besides that, companies from allover are coming to invest in Kenya, so that means money is being pumped into the country and we need it. After all, we are swimming in debt and we need to repay the debt we owe. Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, isn't that the saying?And of course at the end of 10 years, maybe oil will be cheaper than water, but that is highly unlikely, Kenya is a beautiful country full of resources and splendor. We should just count oil as a new resource that we have been blessed with.
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