Page 12 - AfrOil Week 31

AfrOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT AfrOil

Kenya reports more delays for

lake shipments of fuel to Uganda

KENYA KENYA Pipeline Co. (KPC) has said it does not “several compliance processes” and gains access
expect to begin deliveries of petroleum prod- to a barge that can carry cargoes of up to 4.2mn
ucts to Uganda via port facilities in Kisumu on litres across Lake Victoria, he added.
schedule in January 2021. Kenya and Uganda began working to estab-
According to Irungu Macharia, the manag- lish an export corridor for petroleum products
ing director of the state-run fuel pipeline oper- across Lake Victoria in 2013. They had initially
ator, the barge route across Lake Victoria will hoped to start using the Kisumu-Entebbe route
not yet be ready to use by the target date because in 2019, but work has been delayed repeatedly.
of problems in Uganda. Work on export facil- KPC is already using a specialised ship to
ities in Kisumu has proceeded as planned, he transport rail tankers full of fuel across the lake
explained, but operations at import facilities in to destinations in Tanzania and Uganda. The
Entebbe have fallen behind schedule. company conducted a dry-run test of this route
“The Kisumu oil jetty has been delayed by last year, as well as a wet-run test that involved
the delay in completion of complementary the transfer of petroleum products from Kisumu
facilities in Uganda,” Macharia was quoted as to the Ugandan port of Jinja. ™
saying by the Daily Nation. “The timing of the
[Kisumu] jetty development was pegged on
the construction of a jetty, vessels and receiving
depot in Uganda by a private investor [Mhathi
Infra, an Indian company active in Uganda].
It was estimated that the works would be com-
pleted by November 2020 and operations would
commence by January 2021. This has, however,
been impacted by the [coronavirus] COVID-19
pandemic.”
The KPC head did not say exactly when the
Ugandan import facility might be completed.
He indicated, though, that the Entebbe jetty was
expected to come online later in 2021.
The route will not be able to handle regular
commercial shipments of fuel until it completes The Sangomar block includes three offshore fields (Image: FAR)

INVESTMENT
Sound raises funds for Moroccan gas plans

MOROCCO LONDON-LISTED Sound Energy has raised Despite the coronavirus (COVID-19) pan-
GBP2.75mn ($3.6mn) from a share issue, as it demic and its impact on oil and gas markets,
looks to advance a small-sized gas liquefaction Sound said in late June it aimed to take a final
project in Morocco. investment decision (FID) on Tendrara’s first
The company issued 129.4mn shares, and phase in the second half of 2020. It intends to
intends to place a further 82.4mn to generate an exploit gas at the concession’s TE-5 Horst field by
extra GBP1.75mn ($2.19mn) in funds. Proceeds construction a 120-km pipeline to markets. But
will be used to shore up Sound’s cash position, it it also wants to produce LNG on a small scale
said in a statement on July 29. starting in 2021, in order to generate revenues
Following the placing, Sound said it now had sooner.
enough cash to meet its working capital require- Sound also said last month it had entered
ments up until March 2021. This will allow the exclusive talks with an unidentified Moroccan
company to push ahead with development plans conglomerate for LNG sales. The pair signed a
at the Tendrara concession in eastern Morocco, heads of terms (HoT) agreement, giving them
its flagship asset. until the end of 2020 to finalise a supply contract.

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 31 05•August•2020