Citizen TV reported on May 23 that British oil exploration firm, Tullow, has assumed full ownership of the Kenya oil project after its joint venture partners Africa Oil Corp and Total Energies exited the project.
“In a statement, Tullow said it has been informed by its two minority partners of their intention to issue notices of withdrawal. This will see Tullow’s working interest in the blocks increase from 50 to 100 per cent. In response to this, the Turkana county leadership says that should exploration continue after the dissolution of the partnership, then the agreement with the county government and the locals will need to be re-negotiated.”
What is the meaning of all this?
After news anchor Yvonne Okwara read out that intro, reporter Faizal Ahmed, who was supposed to tell viewers “the implications of this development”, simply reread the press statement from Tullow, threw in a soundbite by Turkana Governor Jeremiah Napotikan, added a few unilluminating details, and he was done.
The next day, the Daily Nation carried an equally confusing story based on the Tullow press release: “Tullow upbeat on strategic investor for Turkana oil project” (May 24, Back Page). The report was positive spin.
“British oil and gas exploration firm Tullow is confident of getting a strategic partner for its Kenya oil project following the exit of two of its minority partners, leaving it with full ownership of the venture,” the report said.
Tullow’s two partners had bolted, and here was the Nation, like Citizen TV, doing PR for the oil firm – “upbeat”, “confident”- instead of telling the story.
The decision to quit a business partnership in such a huge project cannot be an easy one. Glaringly, neither of the minority partners, Africa Oil Corp nor Total Energies, was reached to tell their side of this story.
Five paras down, the Nation story said: “Tullow has been in search of strategic partners for its Kenya project for several years now, and at some point, there were hopes of a deal following talks with a consortium of Indian Oil Corporation and Natural Gas Corporation, which wanted to acquire half the stake.”
See why we said talk of Tullow being “upbeat”, “confident”, was spin? The firm has failed “for several years” to attract strategic partners. And now two have pulled out.
This is certainly a big story, not just about Tullow but also about the entire Kenya oil project in Turkana. Good journalism should tell Kenyans what exactly is going on, instead of running press releases and doing spin.
The Standard appeared to understand this. “Another setback for Turkana oil project after key partners leave,” its lead business story said (May 24, p.24).
“Kenya’s oil export dream suffered another major setback yesterday after French giant Total Energies and Canada-based exploration company Africa Oil Corp abandoned the much-delayed Turkana oil project.”
Authoritative reporting. Check the slant, diction, tone and details provided in this powerful intro. No BS about Tullow “assumes full ownership”, “Tullow upbeat”, “Tullow confident”, yadda, yadda.
“The exit of Total and Africa Oil from Project Oil Kenya came a day after it emerged that one of the Indian firms that had been considering coming on board as a strategic partner had backed out and called off talks with Tullow,” The Standard revealed.
The two Indian state-owned firms had been negotiating to buy a 50 per cent stake in the Lokichar oil fields.
“The development has dimmed Kenya’s chance of becoming an oil producer, over a decade after Tullow Oil made Kenya’s first oil find in Turkana County’s South Lokichar sub-basin,” the report said.
Chinese giant Sinopec had also expressed interest to partner with Tullow but this has not happened.
“Delays in getting a strategic partner and the subsequent exit of Tullow’s partners mark a huge blow to Kenya’s aspiration to export oil on a commercial scale since Tullow discovered crude in the East African country in 2012.”
Indeed. Now, you get the picture, don’t you? What remains to be told is exactly why partners are pulling out of the oil project or prospective ones growing cold feet. And why Kenyan oil has not gone commercial, a full decade after discovery.
