Kenya on Monday joined the league of oil-exporting countries after President Uhuru Kenyatta flagged off the first shipment in Mombasa.
Based on international crude oil prices, the first shipment of 200,000 barrels is valued at Sh1.2 billion.
The first shipment is destined for Malaysia after a deal was struck with ChemChina.
Kenya’s oil is categorised as brent crude and has low sulphur content at below 0.5 percent.
Other Africa countries that export oil include, Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Morocco, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Oil was first discovered in Kenya in 2012 and the British firm, Tullow Oil, began trucking crude from Turkana to Mombasa mid 2018.
Tullow trucked 600 barrels per day, an amount later increased to 2,000 barrels.
The crude oil is stored at Kenya Petroleum Refinery Limited in Changamwe, Mombasa.
Tullow spent over Sh200 billion in exploration works and found oil reserves in the South Lokichr Basin estimated at 560 million barrels.
The firm expects to produce 60,000 to 80,000 barrels of oil per day by 2020.
