Crude oil has been in use since approximately 2,000BC. In 500B.C. the Chinese, used crude bamboo pipelines to transport oil used for the heating sea water to produce salt. In 347AD, oil wells were drilled/dug to a depth of up to 240m using bits attached to bamboo poles.
The first well drilled in Kenya was in 1960. Since then approximately 30 more wells were subsequently drilled with no commercially significant discoveries. It was not until Ngamia 1 well was drilled in 2012 and made a significant oil discovery that Kenya started gaining significance as a potential oil producer. More discoveries are currently undergoing appraisal with more wells being drilled to evaluate the oil quality and quantity.