Our work in Kenya

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New projects and initiatives for decarbonisation in Kenya

On March 2023, Claudio Descalzi and the delegation illustrated to President Ruto the results of the project for the production of vegetable oil for biorefining, which the company launched in the country in 2022. Based on an integrated supply chain model, the project leverages marginal or degraded land and crops that do not compete with the food supply chain. The first processing plant (or agri-hub) in Makueni county, has a capacity of 15,000 tons/year and its production of vegetable oil is already feeding the Gela refinery, in Italy. A second agri-hub will be launched in the second half of 2023, and others in the following years, to reach a production target of 200,000 tonnes by 2026. Eni CEO also shared with President Ruto the Waste & Residue initiatives, also to provide feedstock for biorefining. The collection and export of used cooking oil began in 2022 and today involves over 400 suppliers. Finally, Descalzi and President Ruto also discussed further initiatives in the areas of e-mobility, renewable energy and waste to energy. These programs will be finalized in the next months.

Biofuels for aviation, the journey begins in Kenya

The first Kenya Airways (KQ) flight fuelled by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) produced by Eni Sustainable Mobility departed from Nairobi in May 2023: the company has therefore become the first to use this type of biofuel for a long-haul journey from the African continent, given that the flight in question was headed to Amsterdam.

JetA1 was mixed with Eni Biojet, produced in the Livorno refinery by distilling the bio-components made in Gela. A result which confirms the key role that Eni Sustainable Mobility will be able to play in supporting major airlines in their decarbonisation process, also at international level.

50,677 km²

Gross undeveloped surface area in Kenya

41,892 km²

Total net surface area in Kenya

Deep water exploration

Our exploration operations are concentrated in the offshore of the country, in six blocks located in the deep waters of the Lamu Basin, at a depth of between one thousand and four thousand meters. Our history in the country began in 1960, with the founding of the Agip Kenya Company dealing with the import and distribution of petroleum products and by products, nitrogen fertilizers and synthetic rubber. In December 2020 Eni CEO Descalzi met The President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta. On the sidelines of the meeting, amendments to the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) in force were signed, pertaining to three exploration permits offshore Mombasa.

Vegetable oil production in Kenya

In October 2022, the first cargo of vegetable oil for biorefining produced by Eni in Kenya has left the port of Mombasa, on its way to Gela’s biorefinery. Just three months after the start-up of the Makueni agri-hub, we are launching the export of the vegetable oil for the biorefiniries, through a vertical integration model that enables the promotion of sustainable local development while valorizing the supply chain for biofuels production.

In July 2021 Eni and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining of Kenya signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote the decarbonization process to tackle climate change through new industrial models of fully-integrated circular economy along the whole bio-fuel production value chain. The parties will jointly conduct feasibility studies to develop waste and residue collection as well as agricultural projects, with the purpose of establishing a wide range of feedstock sources that do not compete with food cycles, to be transformed into bio-fuels and bio-products that might contribute to feed Eni’s bio-refineries in Gela and Venice, Italy. The parties will also assess the opportunity to build a new plant to produce second-generation bio-ethanol from waste biomass, leveraging Eni technologies Ecofining™ e Proesa®. The agricultural development project focuses on the development of sustainable oil crop cultivations and other agro-industrial co-products.

Just a few months after the agreement, we have supplied castor beans to about 25,000 beneficiaries and started collecting croton and cotton seeds, while one year after the agreement with the institutions, in July 2022 we started vegetable oil production from the first agri-hub in Wote. In Kenya Eni is also collecting used cooking oil (UCO), basically fried oil, involving fast food restaurant chains, restaurants and hotels. The plan also includes the study for the conversion of the Mombasa refinery into a biorefinery for HVO and SAF production.

SEMAKENYA II, the program that promotes agro-ecology and biofuels

In December 2022, we launched the SEMAKENYA II programme together with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and the Italian Embassy in Nairobi. This program aims to test climate-resilient sustainable agronomic technologies and practices in Makueni County. The project will support the cultivation of castor varieties on pilot fields and the valorisation of drought-resistant local crops, such as legumes and tropical fruits, with a strong commercialisation potential on national and international markets. A digital platform will also be introduced that will directly connect farmers to buyers, to ensure fairer trade for farmers and a quality product that meets market demands.

New business opportunities promoted for small farmers in Kenya

Enhancing the country’s energy transition while ensuring a stable market for small farmers.

Used Cooking Oil in Kenya

Eni is looking for local partnership to implement waste and residues collection.

Seeds for energy

The project, which started in December 2021, involves about 25,000 local farming families in the production of 200,000 tonnes per year of agri-feedstock by 2026, starting with the cultivation of castor beans, the harvesting of croton and the development of co-products of the local cotton industry, for which an output of 30,000 tonnes per year is expected in 2023.

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~25,000

local farming families involved

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New strategies to decarbonize transports

Biofuels from castor oil, croton nuts and cotton. This is the future of Eni's biorefining system. The project in Kenya officially started in July 2021 with the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the government.

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~30,000

ton of vegetable oil expected per year

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Further initiatives for local development

We aim to create value in Kenya, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Project

The business accelerator that launches start-ups in Kenya

Project

Sustainable management of water resources in Kenya

In July 2021, through Eni Kenya we signed with the Nairobi Office of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) a Memorandum of Understanding to identify possible collaboration opportunities in the areas of agriculture and value-chain development, environment, health, vocational training and education, and access to energy/green energy and innovation. The four-year agreement promotes and strengthens the Italian system abroad and fits in Eni’s and AICS’ strategy to leverage public-private partnerships, which the United Nations indicate as a key tool for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

In June 2021, through Eni Kenya in partnership with the National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK), we handed over a kitchen and dining hall to Mwakichuchu Secondary School located in Voi, Taita Taveta County. The project represents the second phase of investment at the school aimed at the improvement of its social amenities, following the construction of twin staff houses and an ablution block which were completed and handed over in October 2018. The multi-purpose structure comprises of a kitchen and hall fitted with tables and benches, which can also be utilized as a dining hall and theatre hall. The school currently has 309 students, and this number is expected to increase. This project will provide a much needed space to accommodate all the students during meal times while also ensuring ample space for social distancing. Additionally, we also donated 1,000 face masks to the school in support of the fight against Covid-19. In October 2021, through Eni Kenya and National Oil Corporation of Kenya, we handed over a modern science laboratory to Lunga Lunga Secondary School, Kwale County. The unveiling of this project comes at an opportune time for the school of 816 students (164 girls & 652 boys), and is an addition to the existing single laboratory facility in the school. It will provide much needed space to accommodate Chemistry, Physics and Biology practical classes. Access to quality education is one of our local development project pillars, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4). In addition, the partners have also donated to the school five water storage tanks of 10,000-litre capacity to be utilized for harvesting rainwater to provide clean drinking and cooking water. In the same year, we signed a cooperation agreement with AVSI for the pilot installation of organic photovoltaic panels (OPV) in a school in Kwale County.

Set up in 1991 in Garissa County by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to house Somali populations fleeing civil war, today the Dadaab camp consists of 5 refugee camps for a total of over 420,000 refugees. Sixty percent of the population is under the age of 18, less than 50 percent attend school, and 61 percent have no access to electricity. Eni’s story at Dadaab began in 2015, when CEO Claudio Descalzi, during an initiative organized by the Vodafone Foundation, was able to talk with a group of young people between 16 and 22 years old from the refugee camp. Shortly thereafter, Eni carried out a series of activities to improve access to education in the camp by providing solar power to facilities without electricity. Eleven schools were lit up and the first solar systems were installed, with about ten thousand people learning to read and write. The executive analysis for the project was prepared in collaboration with UNHCR and Kenya’s ministry of Energy and Petroleum and the AVSI Foundation – People for Development. Due to the lockdown announced by the Kenyan government following the Covid-19 pandemic, schools in the camp have been closed. AVSI developed and implemented alternative methods to spread information on Covid-19 and introduced distance learning and teaching methods that would protect the health of teachers, children, parents, and caregivers. Thanks to the work previously done by Eni, it was possible to create a viable context in which lessons could continue.