Navigating regional risk in East Africa

It was not long ago that East Africa was the shining frontier of the continent’s oil scene. Uganda sparked the rush after wildcatters ventured deep inland and made Africa’s largest onshore discoveries in decades in 2006. The successful run continued with new oilfields discovered in Kenya’s north- western Turkana region in 2012.

Yet, a little over a decade after the first new large oil finds were made in East Africa, little has been done to construct a regional pipeline and Uganda and Kenya’s oil remains trapped far from international markets. Discovering the oil was just the first hurdle. Monetising these new resources is proving to be far more difficult.

In a new analysis for the Petroleum Economist , DIIS senior researcher Luke Patey examines the main risks facing the oil industry in Uganda, Kenya, and South Sudan, and the challenges for economic development brought on by shaky regional relations.

Patey heads the Africa oil and gas programme at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, University of Oxford, a new collaboration providing an in-depth understanding of the current trends shaping Africa’s energy industry.