Violence imperils Kenya’s oil success

摘要

Cape Town—Kenya could beat Uganda to become East Africa’s first oil exporter, but many challenges lie in the way of the successful development of its hydrocarbons industry. The first of these challenges are the fears of the potentially destabilizing effects of Islamist radicalism in neighboring Somalia that has spread into Kenya. Kenya has been struggling for years to increase security and tighten its borders, especially since last year’s deadly attack on a Nairobi shopping mall. But in recent days, at least 71 people have been killed in separate attacks around the Kenyan key port of Lamu. The attacks have reignited fears over the safety for oil operations, both onshore and offshore, and for protecting oil export facilities being developed in Lamu.