Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum James Wandayi cut a resolute figure before the joint Senate and National Assembly Energy Committees at Parliament Buildings, mounting a vigorous defense of the Government of Kenya’s Field Development Plan (FDP) for oil production in the South Lokichar Basin, Turkana County. With public participation set to begin the very next day across counties such as Turkana, West Pokot, Lamu, Mombasa, Trans Nzoia, and Uasin Gishu, Wandayi’s appearance was no mere formality—it was a high-stakes pivot in Kenya’s long-delayed quest to join the ranks of Africa’s oil-producing nations.
He argued that the plan, together with revised Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) for Blocks T6 and T7, stands on firm legal ground under the Petroleum Act of 2019 and the Constitution, is economically viable through a joint development strategy, and strategically essential for unlocking the basin’s estimated 2.85 billion barrels of stock tank oil initially in place, with 429 million barrels recoverable. Yet, as co-chairs Senator William Kisang and MP David Gikaria emphasized the razor-thin timelines—60 days to gather public views and table a report by February 24—this moment transcends procedural theater. It tests whether Kenya’s Parliament will champion national transformation or succumb to parochial pressures, fiscal conservatism, and the ghosts of Turkana’s long-neglected marginalization.
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