British exploration firm, Tullow Oil Plc, confirmed Wednesday it had struck Kenya first-ever commercially-viable quantities of crude oil from its oil wells in northern Kenya.
The firm said tests were still ongoing, but the Ngamia-1 and Twiga South-1 wells in Turkana, northern Kenya, had shown confirmed ability to produce 2,351 barrels daily.
“Major basin-opening discovery in Kenya with the Ngamia-1 and Twiga South-1 wells; Twiga South-1 well flow-tested at a combined rate of 2,351 barrels of 37 degree API oil from two zones with the final test ongoing,” the London Stock Exchange-listed firm said in a statement.
Tullow Chief Executive, Aidan Heavey, said 2012 was a year of major progress for Tullow, indicating that the firm plans to drill 40 wells in Africa in 2013, notably, Kenya and Ethiopia.
“We materially enhanced the business with a basin-opening oil discovery in Kenya, by adding highly prospective new licences in Africa and the Atlantic Margins,” the CEO said.
The Kenyan government announced the first discovery of oil in the country in 2012, but the quantities were not immediately confirmed as commercially viable.
“Our financial position underpins our highly ambitious 2013 exploration programme which has high-impact wells planned in Kenya, Ethiopia, Norway, Mauritania, Mozambique, Côte d’Ivoire and French Guiana,” the Tullow executive said.
