Kenya’s Energy and Petroleum Minister, Charles Keter, stated that the government and its upstream partners, Tullow Oil, Africa Oil and Maersk Companies, have concluded a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) for the development of a crude oil pipeline, Reuters reported.

The $2.1b pipeline will run 891 km between Lokichar and Lamu on Kenya’s coast. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2021, according to Africa-ME.

In 2012, Tullow and Africa Oil first discovered oil in the Lokichar Basin in Kenya’s northwest. The recoverable reserves are an estimated 750m barrels of crude. The two firms were 50-50 partners in blocks 10 BB and 13T where the discoveries were made. Africa Oil has since sold a 25% stake in those blocks to A.P. Moller-Maersk.

The government and the companies are pushing to start small scale crude oil production in 2017, at about 2,000b/d to be initially transported by road until the construction of the pipeline is completed.