The Kenyan government Friday said a petroleum industry plan that will guide investments in the oil and gas sectors will be released by the end of the year.
Energy principle secretary Joseph Njoroge said the World Bank had appointed PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PwC) to develop the plan as country moves closer to commercialization of oil discovered in the northern Turkana Basin.
"The petroleum master plan will provide a road map for investment in processing, transport infrastructure, storage and distribution facilities for domestic use as well export for production of crude oil and natural gas discovered," he said.
The plan will set long-term goals with a 10-year view as Kenya edges towards first oil in 2017.
Interest in exploration both onshore and offshore Kenya has increased after Tullow Oil and Africa Oil first struck oil in 2012. Since then, the companies have discovered an estimated 600 million barrels of oil resources, the minimum required for a commercial development.
The companies are expected to submit a field development plan by 2015.
The International Development Association, the long-term lending arm of the World Bank, has extended a $50 million loan to help fund the setting up of institutions to manage revenues from oil and gas discoveries.
"The petroleum master plan is being developed to enable the Kenyan government to adequately forecast and manage revenues as well to justify investment in extractive industries value chain," Njoroge said.
Kenya has 46 blocks, of which 44 are licensed to 23 companies. The government plans to offer seven new blocks as soon as a revised petroleum code is passed into law.
Kenya's cabinet secretary for energy and petroleum, Davis Chirchir, said in June he wanted parliament to approve the revised petroleum law in October, a move that would pave the way for a licensing round. The law is also expected to provide a framework for oil revenue management and could increase the government's take from oil operations and enforce more local content legislation.
