ABSTRACT
Some of the world’s richest oil and gas deposits are found in areas of high ecological and biodiversity significance, including forests, lakes and oceans, and arid and semi-arid lands (ASALS). These conditions apply to Kenya as well. Extraction and recovery of these energy resources therefore present tremendous environmental and social impacts and risks. These oil and gas deposit sites are broadly classified as onshore and offshore exploration, development and production sites. The oil and gas operations are further generally divided into two sub-sectors, the upstream sub-sector that deals with exploration, field development and production and the downstream sub-sector that involves transportation, storage and marketing of refined products. Kenya discovered commercially viable oil deposits in the north and the coastal regions of the country in 2012, thereby setting the country on the path to unprecedented economic and social transformation driven by the petroleum sector. Alongside these opportunities are emergent risks such as accidents and disasters, damage to cultural, heritage and historical sites, destruction of environments supporting the livelihoods of communities in various economic sectors such as fisheries, livestock and tourism, as well as oil spillage and environment pollution. Mitigating these impacts through appropriate operational safeguards, standards and technologies is therefore crucial to realizing environmentally sustainable development in the petroleum sector in Kenya. This chapter examines some of the technology options and the social safeguards that are essential to meeting the objectives of sustainable development in the oil and gas industry in Kenya.
