The Ministry of Petroleum is yet to disclose the details of the Turkana Oil Deal. Pressure has mounted on the government to share the details of the agreement with the general public as a way of accountability and transparency.
The government reached an agreement with Tullow’s Final Investment Decision (FID) that will see the firm exploit the oil until the second half of 2020. It, however, remains unclear what the exact details of the agreement are. The operations costs of the exploitation have been estimated at Ksh.203.1 billion. The said amount also includes Sh53 million in delay ramifications.
The government has valued the oil at a Ksh.1.2 billion price-tag. The mining of the oil, which is under the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS), is expected to transform the economy of the region and the entire nation in the coming years.
The Petroleum Ministry has clearly outlined that the funds from the oil will be used in the development of the country but has remained secretive in the details of the deal. Petroleum Principal Secretary Andrew Kamau said that the deal was reached for the sake of profiting everything through the financing of government activities.
“All costs are recoverable at full-scale production. Out of one barrel, a certain percentage goes to clear costs and what remains is for-profit for government,” Kamau said, as quoted by Citizen Digital.
He also dismissed allegations that there is some element of secrecy in the deal as alleged on social media and other communication platforms. He further said that the government will reap the benefits faster if the process is accelerated at the end of the day.
“If we accelerate the cost of recovery, we will get more of the equity quicker while if it takes longer, it takes longer to get to the full profit oil. The sharing contract is not a secret document as has been alluded,” he added.