ATTEMPTS BY TOTAL TO PUSH KENYA TO JOIN EAST AFRICA CRUDE OIL PIPELINE LIKELY TO BE REBUFFED

Attempts by Total to push Kenya to join East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) are likely to be rebuffed due to the country’s commitment to the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (LAPSSET) route.

Kenya Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas said relations between Total and Kenya could be strained if the French firm opts to push for building a crude pipeline from South Lokichar to Hoima in western Uganda to join the $3.55 billion East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline from Hoima district in Albertine Basin to Tanzania’s Tanga port.

Kenya opted to build a $2.1 billion crude pipeline of about 855 kilometres from Lokichar to Lamu port. Building a 1,451-kilometre pipeline from Hoima through Lokichar to Lamu would have cost $5 billion.

In 2016, Total played an instrumental role in Uganda’s decision to build the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline. The South Lokichar basin in acreage l0BB and 13T has 750 million barrels of crude.

Last month, Total signed a deal to acquire a 25 percent stake in block 10 BB, 13T and 10BA in Kenya, buying out Maersk Oil.