Africa Oil, Tullow Oil, and Total Energies have submitted a draft field development plan (FDP) for their $3.4bn Kenya development project (Project Oil Kenya) to the Kenyan government.
The submission was made after the joint venture (JV) partners had completed the redesign of the project.
Project Oil Kenya involves the development of oil discoveries contained in the 10BB and 13T blocks contained in Turkana County.
The companies have revised their earlier plan and are now aiming to achieve a higher oil production plateau of 120,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd). The gross oil recovery is expected to be 585 million barrels of oil (mmbbl) over the life of the field.
In the earlier plan, the partners estimated a higher oil production plateau of 72,000bopd and the volume of the recoverable oil at 433mmbbl.
Earlier, the project was expected to have a capital expenditure (capex) of around $2.9bn.
The first phase of Project Oil Kenya will now include the Ngamia, Ekales, Amosing, and Twiga (NEAT) fields, and will aim to unlock 390mmbo.
The total gross capex to achieving first oil from Project Oil Kenya is made up of nearly $2bn for the upstream part and around $1.4bn for the pipeline.
Africa Oil said that the partners plan to file a finalised FDP by the end of this year. The timing of the submission will be in line with licence extension requirements provided by the Kenyan government last December, said the company.
The Canadian oil and gas firm and its partners will continue to collaborate with the government on land and water access and on the required commercial agreement pertaining to Project Oil Kenya. Besides, they are awaiting the final approval of the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) from regulators.
Africa Oil revealed that the partners are actively pursuing strategic partners for the Kenyan oil project.
The company said that a strategic partner is intended to be secured prior to taking a final investment decision (FID).
Africa Oil president and CEO Keith Hill said: “Together with our JV partners we have made significant progress in redesigning and optimising Project Oil Kenya. Compared to the previous field development plan, we have a more economically robust project, which I am confident is more attractive to potential new partners.
“We will continue to work with our JV partners and the government of Kenya towards the final investment decision and I am pleased that our interests are fully aligned on what is a strategically significant project for Kenya.”
