The oil find in Kenya is attracting billions of dollars in the country, a new survey notes.

“Neglected by investors for many years, it was overshadowed by the rapid development in West Africa and the established markets in North Africa, Kenya and its neighbours’ oilfields are fast becoming one of the world’s most interesting oil and gas hotspots,” a report by Visiongain, a business intelligence company, says.

The survey notes that Kenya and its neighbours, Uganda and Tanzania, saw Sh325 billion ($3.66 billion) spent in exploration in 2014.

The East African Oil and Gas Market 2014-2024: upstream and midstream spending in Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Sudan & Somalia report adds that gains from the investments sanctioned by respective countries might soon see Kenyans enjoy cheaper oil and spark a boom in fuel export business.

With East Africa covering a territory roughly six times the size of the North Sea – a highly valued oil source – the region’s future can only be better as it has fewer than 500 wells drilled to date where proven commercially viable oil deposits have been found.

Visiongain report says the discoveries have forced major international companies to take notice and are becoming involved alongside smaller firms, indicating the industry’s confidence in East Africa’s potential.

Noting that Kenya and Uganda could start exporting oil, Mozambique and Tanzania offshore gas reserves and proximity to Asian demand centres offer the potential for LNG export in a decade.

Kenya, it adds, has leased numerous blocks for exploration by international companies, some of which have struck commercially viable reserves in Turkana County. Exploration is going on in North Eastern, Turkana, Nyanza and Baringo, as well as Lamu.

The report is aimed at helping firms make decisions that directly affect their future business strategy for the next decade.