The country's storage facilities, transport pipelines and rail system are inadequate to move oil and natural gas products, NOCK said.  

Ken Mugambi, head of strategic planning and new business development for NOCK, said the find means it is even more critical to create an infrastructure plan to support Kenya's growing demand for petroleum and its aim to become a net exporter of oil and gas. 

The lack of infrastructure means that the east Africa region is losing millions of dollars since it can't get products to customers.

"The demand is absolutely there, from all over the world, Mugambi said.  

"(The discovery) puts much more urgency in our plans (to build our infrastructure)." 

Kenya, through NOCK, is in the advanced stages of hiring a consulting firm to create a master plan to determine what Kenya needs to support east Africa's oil and gas logistical demands. 

"Within two months a consultant will have started work," Mugambi said.  

Other countries in the region have similar ambitions, but problems such as the slow and insecure method of transporting crude via trucks may dim their chances of success. 

Furthermore, demand in Kenya alone for gasoline, diesel and other fuels is expected to more than triple in the next 20 years to about 14.45 million metric tonnes annually, NOCK figures show. 

New projects under Kenya's ambitious "Vision 2030" blueprint for economic expansion will require more fuel, and fast-paced economic growth in the region means petroleum use will jump, Mugambi said. 

NOCK pointed to insufficient storage space and the fact that sometimes oil tankers are forced to wait, at great cost, before they can offload as examples of obstacles to Kenya's ambitions to become a petroleum trading hub similar to Singapore and Amsterdam. 

Mugambi said there was a short list of candidates from around the world to develop the master plan but declined to provide names or say what NOCK has budgeted to pay for the work.