Tullow Oil has reported that it expects the Joint Development Agreement (JDA) setting out a structure for the Government of Kenya and the Kenya Joint Venture Partners (Maersk Oil, Africa Oil) to progress the development of the export pipeline to commence execution by year-end.
According to the latest trading update the JDA signed in October will allow important studies to commence such as FEED, Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA), as well as studies on pipeline financing and ownership.
This announcement comes as the JV partnership announced that good progress is being made on the Kenya development project with preparation for the upstream development Front End Engineering Design (FEED) well under way underway at the Amosing and Ngamia fields. Tullow Oil adds that a water injection trial programme at the Amosing and Ngamia fields has also commenced to collect data to support the efficient design of the field waterflood programme.
On the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS), which involves the transportation of early South Lokichar oil production to Mombasa by road, has been sanctioned by the Joint Venture Partners Tullow Oil says all is ready and is awaiting approval of agreements by the Government and relevant conditions to been satisfied.
Meanwhile the Joint Venture Partners will recommence exploration drilling activities in Kenya in December 2016 with a programme of four wells in the South Lokichar basin. These wells include the drilling of two new exploration prospects and the appraisal of two of the existing discoveries, the Ngamia and Amosing fields.
The wells to be drilled are Etete, a structure south of the Etom field; Erut, a new prospect in the north of the basin; Ngamia South, an appraisal well to extend Ngamia to the southeast; and lastly Amosing Updip, a well targeting undrilled near-fault volumes.
“As we exit 2016, we are well placed to begin the process of both refinancing and paying down our debt in 2017 while also focusing on growth through our exploration programmes in Africa and South America and the commercialisation of our assets in East Africa,” concludes Aidan Heavey, Chief Executive Officer, Tullow Oil Plc.