British oil company Tullow Oil has suspended its operations in the oil fields of Turkana region citing insecurity.
The company decries hostility that has hampered oil transportation to the coast. Chief Executive Paul McDade told the press on Wednesday that decision had been made since there was no indication that situation could return to normalcy.
“What you saw locally was the local people, the community... using the trucking operation as a lever really to demonstrate to the national government that the security situation on the ground had to improve,” McDade said.
He is however he dismissed any call for alarm by terming the issue just a ‘minimal hitch.’
“It’s not a big issue for us,” he added. “We’d expect to be up there working, getting the field back operating again and trucks moving again the near future. But it’s important to take the time out so that when we do return... we have a more secure environment.”
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For more than a month, operations at the Lokichar Base which was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta has been grounded following a wave of protests from the local community who also want insecurity problem solved.
The company had issued a warning that it would consider suspending the operations in the region if the government would not address the insecurity snag.
Government on the other had promised a pact with the locals to put the matter to rest, and restore the transportation of 2,000 barrels of commodity to the coastal region.
