Nairobi — Kenya will sign new agreements for lease of open blocks for oil and gas exploration in the next two months, Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi announced yesterday.

He said negotiations for exploration licences between the Government and four firms were at an advanced stage as Kenya has stepped up the search for viable quantities of crude oil (hydrocarbons).

Speaking on the sidelines of African oil and gas, trade and finance conference's start in Nairobi, Mr Murungi said new open block- leased exploration companies will be announced within two months.

"Negotiations are at an advanced stage for signing of production sharing contracts (PSCs) with at least four firms. It is not appropriate to name the companies as discussions are still going on," he said.

He said despite the Woodside-led consortium having drilled a dry well offshore Lamu early this year, interest in Kenya as a frontier for exploration is still high because of incentives offered to investors.

He said investors in Kenya have access to geological data and a favourable fiscal regime among others at a time when global competition for new oil deposits is high as a result of dwindling stocks of hydrocarbons.

East Africa Exploration Company said investors are keen on the coastal region from Kenya to Madagascar and defying the old conventional wisdom that says Africa's eastern coast has some gas but little oil.

"East Africa is a hot oil exploration frontier as geological data shows evidence of depots," said Chris Matchette-Downes, Vice President of Business Development East Africa Exploration Company.

He said firms are tapping into new technology to make offshore surveying more efficient, driven partly by difficulty in finding fresh oil fields in time-worn exploration zones such as the like Gulf of Mexico and North Sea.

He said the eastern coast of Africa has got renewed interest from major oil firms as well as smaller ones unlike in the past when the focus was on producers like Nigeri and Angola.

"Governments are also eager to promote the energy potential of the Indian Ocean coast, sensing a chance to bolster economies reliant mainly on commodities like tea and coffee or tourism," he said.

Woodside Energy said Kenya is regarded as the most prospective part in East Africa as it has large geological structures hosting multiple targets similar to those of Australia's North West Shelf.

Woodside's General Manager Peter Grant, said information that that was acquired from Pomboo well in block L5 off shore Lamu including rock samples and pressure data were being fully evaluated.