East Africa’s oil producers are unlikely to start earning money from the export of crude oil and natural gas before 2020, due to lengthy government procedures, lack of production facilities, and high transport and export costs.

The industry’s global standard lead time to start production is five years for oil and at least seven years for gas from the time a commercial discovery is made.

East Africa’s hopes of earning from these resources sooner have been further dented by the decline in global oil prices.

“New exploration may slow down as prices fall and companies increasingly apply caution while investing in frontier markets with nascent industries, poor infrastructure and long lead times,” said South Africa-based financial consulting firm RisCura.  MORE