National Oil Corporation of Kenya (Nock) plans to step up its search for oil and gas in Kajiado County and is due to start drilling exploratory wells.
The State-owned firm operates Block 14 T in Magadi area and has been undertaking some preparatory work on the block, including carrying out seismic and geological surveys as well as drilling shallow wells.
In a tender notice yesterday, Nock said it was looking for a company to partner with in setting up onshore drilling operations.
“National Oil invites expression of interest (EOI) from eligible candidates from Kenya and international (market) for the provision of onshore drilling operations. The objective of the EOI is to yield a competent firm to partner with in setting up of onshore drilling operations,” said the company.
Despite surveys in Magadi that the firm has undertaken in the past, it has not made public its findings that usually give an oil explorer an indication of how much oil resources they expect to find once they start drilling.
READ MORE
How public sensitization forums are solving Magadi's maternal mortality
Why Uganda chose to import oil through Mombasa and not Dar
One killed, scores injured after train derails in Kajiado
Oil corporation, MP Sunkuyia distribute relief food to Magadi flood victims
Block 14T is located within the Tertiary Rift Basin and runs from the shores of Lake Bogoria down to Lake Magadi Basin on the border of Kenya and Tanzania.
There are little insights as to how much potential the area has due to the little exploration that has been carried out, unlike other basins where exploration firms have reported finds from seismic surveys as well as drilling of wells.
Nock hopes to join other firms that have had success in oil exploration, the most successful being Tullow Oil and its joint venture partners, Maersk and Africa Oil, that estimate there are 750 million barrels of recoverable oil in Turkana’s Lokichar Basin with potential to increase to a billion barrels on further testing and drilling.
Lamu is also promising and although not much drilling has taken place, seismic surveys by firms licensed to prospect in the area show it has a huge potential for oil and gas, especially offshore.
Other than being an explorer, National Oil facilitates oil and gas exploration in Kenya.
“As a facilitator, National Oil is tasked with the marketing of Kenya’s exploration acreage, management of gas and exploration data and the running of the National Petroleum Laboratory,” it said in the notice.
