Kenya’s petroleum exploration and production law: challenges for investors, the government and local communities.

Abstract

The study analyzes the legal, policy and institutional challenges in the regulation of oil exploration and production in Kenya. In this regard, it analyses the existing legal, policy and institutional framework for regulating oil exploration and production in Kenya to determine whether it is adequate and effective to protect the social, economic and environmental interests of the local community, the investor and the government, and to make recommendations as necessary, including proposals for legal reform in the sector. Petroleum is Kenya’s major source of commercial energy and is mainly used in the transport, commercial and industrial sectors as well as for domestic purposes. The country imports crude oil for national consumption in monthly installments . The government has over the years made efforts to explore and produce oil by entering into production sharing agreements (PSA) with oil companies willing to invest in that sector and to encourage the prospectors to train Kenyans to acquire knowledge in exploration and production