Security unit setup to protect oil explorers at the North

Last Updated 13 years ago by Kenya Engineer

A security unit has been created to protect oil exploration sites in the country’s strife-prone north where companies including Vanoil Energy Ltd. (VEL) are searching for petroleum.

“The formation of the special security unit is necessitated by many factors such as oil sites which are located in conflict-prone arid areas of northeast Kenya,” Garissa County Commissioner Rashid Khator said .

The region, which borders Somalia and Ethiopia, has been hit by frequent grenade and gun attacks since the country sent its army into southern Somalia in Oct. 2011 in pursuit of al-Qaeda-linked rebels trying to impose Islamic law. Kenya has accused al-Shabaab of carrying out attacks on foreigners in its north including the kidnapping of aid workers and tourists.

 “It’s a strategic investment which must be accorded special protection and round the clock security”, pointed the County Commissioner.

Kenya, which imports all of its oil needs, found its first crude deposit last year in the country’s northwest. The discovery has spurred investment in the industry even as Tullow Oil Plc (TLW), along with partners Africa Oil Corp. (AOI) and Cnooc Ltd. are assessing the commercial viability of their finds.

The security unit will guard “strategic facilities” such as oil exploration installations, and protect workers in the industry and their transportation networks. The government is also working to settle any disputes between communities over division of possible oil reserves, which threatens to exacerbate decades-old ethnic tensions over other resources including land for cattle-grazing and water, said Khator.

The Borana, a pastoralist group in Isiolo County, and ethnic Somalis in Garissa County disagree over the boundaries within 3A and 3B blocks operated by Vanoil Energy.

Simba Energy Inc. and Afren Plc (AFR) are among other companies operating in Kenya’s north, according to their websites.

Extracts from Bloomberg

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