Tullow Oil has taken full control of a large oil project in Kenya’s Turkana County, following the withdrawal of two joint partners.

The British resource exploration firm reported last year that it had encountered funding problems for its proposed plans in the area; however, the issue looks set to be exacerbated as its two partners, Africa Oil and Total Energies, have chosen to “strategically” exit the venture.

On Tuesday, 23 May, Tullow issued a statement, declaring that it would “assume a 100 per cent equity position, subject to the Government of Kenya’s approvals.”

Meanwhile, Canada’s Africa Oil cited that it would be diverting its attention to “regions with high petroleum potential”. French petroleum company, Total Energies, claims that it had already proposed in December last year to pursue different options of monetising the oil discoveries and intended selling its project shares at the time.

Tullow’s long-delayed Turkana project would have had a $3.4 billion price-tag and would have tapped into 460 million barrels of oil across several extraction sites. However, continuously shifting timelines and wary investors have seen no official commencement date.