The Director General and CEO of Lapsset Corridor Development Authority Silvester Kasuku is expected to deliver a detailed update of the project in the upcoming East Africa Oil & Gas Summit (EAOGS), the the organizer said.
“We are delighted to have the support of Kasuku and his team at the LCDA. The work that the Authority undertakes embracing regional cooperation is of critical importance in developing the critical infrastructure projects that can support sustainable oil and gas production and contribute to social and economic development across East Africa.” said Rob Percival, EAOGS Director.
Launched in 2012 by President Mwai Kibaki, former Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and South Sudan President Salva Kiir, the Sh2.7 trillion Lappset is the most ambitious and expensive infrastructure project being undertaken in East Africa with 70 individual construction projects spread across four countries.
Of particular interest to the EAOGS audience will be the crude oil pipeline between Lamu Port and Kenya’s oil fields in Turkana Basin to Ethiopia and South Sudan; the planned oil refinery in Kenya; and details on how the project is being sustainably financed.
Two speakers confirmed to tackle questions surrounding the finance of such infrastructure projects are Dr. Moses Ikiara, Managing Director, KenInvest and Gabriel Negatu, Regional Director, Eastern Africa, African Development Bank.
Recently quoted as saying the AfDB will support pipeline construction “with whatever means available,” Negatu remains upbeat about the investment opportunities for those keen to gain a foothold in East Africa’s energy industry. “Nobody has ever, ever lost money financing pipelines,” Negatu said. If there is oil flowing, “it’s generally viable.”
EAOGS is hosted by the Kenyan Ministry of Energy & Petroleum and will run from 16-17 November 2016 at Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
Also confirmed to speak is Hon. Charles Keter, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Petroleum in Kenya; Hon. Irene Muloni, Minister of Energy & Mineral Development in Uganda; and Dr. Wakguri Furi, Minister of State for Oil and Natural Gas Sector, Ethiopia.