Wood has been awarded contract for the initial phase of a front-end engineering design (FEED) for the proposed Lokichar to Lamu Crude Oil Pipeline project located in Kenya.
Image: A joint development study agreement for the pipeline was signed by the joint venture partners and the Government of Kenya in October 2017. Photo courtesy of Ministry of Energy, Kenya.
The pipeline, which is estimated to cost $2.1bn, is expected to enter service in the first quarter of 2021.
Under the contract, signed with Tullow Kenya, Wood will provide the first phase of FEED services for the project. It will also be responsible for setting the technical requirements and estimating the installed cost for the pipeline system.
The pipeline is aimed at exporting waxy crude oil sourced from the oil field developments in the South Lokichar basin to Lamu port on Kenya’s coast.
As per the Tullow estimates, the South Lokichar basin contains recoverable resources of 240 – 560 – 1,230 million barrels of oil (1C–2C–3C) from an overall discovered stock tank oil-initially-in-place (STOIIP) of up to 4 billion barrels.
Wood Specialist Technical Solutions business CEO Bob MacDonald said: “We are delighted to be working with the Pipeline Project Management Team on this project which leverages Wood’s broad capabilities.
“Our independent onshore pipeline engineering expertise combined with the latest project delivery technology will allow us to challenge the design, working to reduce cost and boost efficiencies.”
The pipeline project is being developed by the Pipeline Project Management Team, a consortium of Tullow Oil, Africa Oil and Total in partnership with the Government of Kenya.
Last year, a joint development study agreement was signed between the joint venture partners and the Government of Kenya to carry out a study for the proposed 820km-long crude oil pipeline project.
At that time, Kenya Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter said: “The Government of Kenya is committed to the development of a modern midstream infrastructure to evacuate Kenyan crude oil to the international markets and this agreement marks a significant milestone to realizing this goal.”