Economy

Test results on samples of Kajiado natural gas out next week

kajiado

Kajiado gas was discovered by workers sinking a borehole. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Kenya will next week receive the results for samples of natural gas discovered in Kajiado that were shipped to the United States end of last year for laboratory tests.

State-owned National Oil, which owns the exploration block where the gas was found, Tuesday said the results would establish whether the deposits are commercially viable and thus pave way for preliminary works.

The firm contracted American oil and gas logistics giant Weatherford end of last year to analyse the samples. This came following preliminary surveys which established that the Kajiado area has gas deposits. Workers sinking a borehole discovered the resource by chance.

National Oil CEO MaryJane Mwangi said the results would have arrived sooner but the lab tests were temporarily put on hold during last December holiday break.

“The delays were caused by the just ended festivities,” the CEO said but did not wish to quote the costs involved in the overseas tests. “The cost is not quoted yet,” she said.
National Oil operates petrol stations and is also involved in oil and gas exploration.

READ: Kenya sends Kajiado gas samples to America for tests

The shipment of the gas samples to the US came after Kenya conducted seismic tests in the area — a process that involves picking surface vibrations to reveal the rock formations holding oil or gas. The generated data was taken to the US labs for analysis and interpretation.

The US tests are expected to establish the nature of the gas, quantity available and a possible presence of oil in the area.

East Africa does not have a laboratory for such tests, prompting Kenya to seek the services from the US.

The discovery has raised expectation that Kenya could soon rival neighbouring Tanzania, which struck huge reserves of natural gas that it is now using to generate cheaper electricity.

Kenya has also discovered deposits of natural gas in Hadado, Wajir, whose extraction is yet to begin.

The Ministry of Energy reckons that should the tests confirm availability of commercial deposits, the government would invite other developers in a joint venture arrangement to inject capital and technical expertise needed to extract and process the gas.

Kenya has mapped out 63 oil and gas exploration blocks, some of which are held by National Oil.