Museveni, Uhuru to meet over oil pipeline

President Yoweri Museveni is expected to travel to Nairobi, Kenya tomorrow for a meeting with his counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta and oil company executives to hold further discussions on a route for the pipeline to transport the two countries' oil, the Kenyan president's spokesman said on Sunday.

"President Uhuru Kenyatta will host Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni tomorrow ... They will discuss the construction of the Uganda-Kenya oil pipeline, a key plank of the Northern Corridor Infrastructure Projects," Manoah Esipisu said in a statement quoted by Reuters news agency and Kenyan media outlets.

Last week, Tanzania's presidency said that Total, which has a stake in Uganda's crude oil discoveries, had set aside $4 billion to build a pipeline from Ugandan fields to the Tanzanian coast and that Tanzania wants the three-year construction schedule shortened. Tanzania says work on pipeline to start in August.

The comments raised the stakes in a competition to secure the pipeline with Kenya, which wants Ugandan oil to be exported across its territory and wants the pipeline to link up with Kenyan oil fields.

"Kenya favours the northern route through Lokichar, because as part of the Lamu Port, South Sudan, Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) project, it would transform infrastructure and the way of life of the people in the towns and counties across its path," Esipisu said.

He added that officials from Tullow Oil, Total and China's CNOOC had been invited to the meeting.

Total has previously raised security concerns about the Kenyan route. Sections of the Kenyan pipeline could run near Somalia, from where militants have launched attacks on Kenya.

Kenya so far is estimated to have recoverable reserves of 600 million barrels while has a total 6 billion barrels of crude. But commercial production is yet to kickoff.