Kenyans to wait longer for oil money...

Kenyans should expect no revenues yet following Thursday’s announcement that the country was selling its first crude oil to China.

Petroleum principal secretary Andrew Kamau said the $12 million to be received from the sale will largely be used to cover for the expenses that the explorer and the government incurred in market testing for the crude, which is set to be exported later this month.

The PS, who had earlier revealed that Kenya had sold the crude oil to ChemChina UK Ltd, said a delegation of ministry officials will be heading to Turkana next week to explain to residents, through their leaders, what to expect from the maiden sale of Kenya’s crude.

“We will be meeting all the leaders next week to explain to them what the sale means because, as we have always said, the Early Oil Pilot Scheme is a market test and not necessarily a commercial venture,” Mr Kamau told the Sunday Nation.

The expenses to be recovered, according to him, include the cost of setting up the oil drilling machines, rehabilitation of storage tanks and expensive trucking of the crude that saw the pilling of 200,000 barrels headed for Beijing in two weeks.

The upfront cost recovery from the sale of oil means the EOPS may not yield any petrodollars until the project reaches full development in 2022.