Kenya Targets First Commercial Oil Exports by 2026 After Approving South Lokichar Development Plan
Kenya has announced plans to launch its first commercial crude oil exports by late 2026, following the government’s approval of the Field Development Plan for the South Lokichar Basin in Turkana County. Full field production is expected to be reached in the years after initial exports begin.
The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has authorized Gulf Energy E&P BV to advance development of the South Lokichar project and adjacent blocks within the Tertiary Rift region.
This approval comes shortly after Tullow Oil finalized the sale of its remaining stake in the Turkana oil assets to Auron Energy E&P Limited, an affiliate of Gulf Energy. The agreement includes potential milestone-based and price-linked payments.
The newly endorsed development plan encompasses several discovered fields in the South Lokichar Basin. It outlines large-scale drilling operations, the construction of a long heated pipeline connecting Lokichar to the port of Lamu, and upgrades to existing pilot infrastructure.
The plan also provides for central processing facilities with expansion capacity, field gathering systems, water injection operations, and power generation facilities that will progressively transition from diesel to grid electricity and renewable energy sources.
The government says the project marks a major step toward establishing Kenya as a future oil-producing nation while creating long-term economic opportunities for the region.
