History Is Made – President Kenyatta Ships Off First 200,000 Barrels Of Crude Oil From Turkana

Kenya marked a monumental day in history on Monday morning when President Uhuru Kenyatta flagged off the first 200,000 barrels of crude oil from Kenya. The very first oil shipment left the dock at the Mombasa port yesterday for Malaysia. The entire launch was dubbed with the hash tag #FirstofAKind to commemorate the great milestone achieved.

The buyers of the oil, UK-based Chinese company ChemChina, bought the first batch of the crude oil at Sh 1.2 billion. This sale is part of the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS), an great step towards the South Lokichar Full Field Development (FFD) project. During the flagging of the oil cargo, President Uhuru noted that event marked a special moment in Kenya’s history. This is because the very first oil exploration dates back to 1937 where not much was achieved in extracting commercially viable deposits.

 
According to the President, Kenya continued with the exploration efforts despite challenges because the existence of oil is the key for the development and eventual prosperity of a Nation. He promised his support and commitment in the modification of the Petroleum Refinery Limited to support the early pilot oil scheme.

Speaking in the presence of Mombasa County Governor Joho, the president said that the new oil project will create more jobs for citizens. He added that the Kenya shipping line will gain access to more than 500 ports across the world. This access will enable Kenya to ship the oil and get more Kenyans working in the maritime industry.