Energy bill to kick out cartels

National Assembly Energy committee has come up with an Energy bill to streamline the Energy industry which is currently under exploitation by cartels.The bill which is on public participation process is expected to come to the house for discussion in two weeks-time and once passed is going to support serious energy explorers and control the business.Over the weekend, a team of eight members of the committee led by Chairman David Gikarie who is also Nakuru Member of Parliament took the team to Lamu Island under the lead of Lamu East Member of Parliament Athman Shariff Ali.The committee toured two new upcoming energy industries, Zarara Oil and Gas located at Pate Island and Amu Coal Power project at Kwasasi within the county.At Zarara the team was optimistic that once the bill is passed into law then it is going to enable serious investors in the industry indicating the two projects in Lamu were game changers of the region’s economy and the country at large.At Zarara Oil and Gas industry, the committee realized that gas was first discovered in 1971 where a private oil company BP SHELL ventured in the area looking for oil but instead found gas.The old site of the discovery still stands to date which led to the new Zarara Company to venture in the ground to explore the product.Speaking to the press after a tour of the site on Sunday, Austin Titford, who is the Chief operating officer of the project, said, they are set to drill two wells of 4.5 kilometers deep searching for gas that they would later create electricity.“The first phase of the project would cost us $85 million and already we have spent $30 million since 2011 when we were doing ground survey and research,” Stitford said.“Drilling of the wells would each cost 25 million dollars each and another five million shall be sent during the tasting of the gas and analysis of its quality,” added.Stitford, however, affirmed that “once the drilling of the first two wells is complete we expect to produce between 50 and 200 megawatts of electricity from the gas.”David Gikarie who is the committee chairman said, such companies were worth receiving exploration licenses indicating that the future of electricity in Kenya is from Gas.Lamu East member of parliament Athman Shariff lauded the committee's process to visit such plants indicating that in a few years Lamu shall become one of the largest economic earners in the whole country.He said Zarara had largely supported its community in Lamu East by employing youths in the area saying once gas is discovered then more support will be achieved.