Energy & Mining

With commercial-scale resource discoveries in Kenya in recent years – of both oil and solid minerals – the country’s energy and mining sectors are expanding. Kenya is now poised to join the ranks of commodity exporters, which is a significant reversal from the country’s historic dependency on imports. Authorities are currently overhauling related regulatory frameworks and working on large-scale infrastructure projects to help solicit investment in upstream extractive industries, with an eye to boost both exports and domestic sales. The need for new infrastructure is largely based on the expectation that Kenyans – and East Africans overall – will trade up from burning biomass to consuming modern fuels as disposable incomes rise across the board. Demand could be met with local oil if the state elects to rehabilitate its old refinery or build a new one, or Kenya could equally choose to export its crude oil and import finished products. For now, however, the government is primarily focused on upstream production and improving its regional distribution capacity.

This chapter contains interviews with Dan Kazungu, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Mining; and John Ngumi, Chairman, Kenya Pipeline Company.