Kenya has more than doubled its funding for the long-delayed Turkana oil project, allocating KES 1.67bn ($12.90mn) in the 2025/26 fiscal year to accelerate preparatory work for commercial production, Tuko News reported on May 18.

Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi said the funds will fast-track approval of the Field Development Plan (FDP) for the South Lokichar Basin oilfields and lay the foundation for full-scale operations by the end of the financial year.

The budget includes KES 890mn ($6.87mn) for pipeline design—up from KES 454mn ($3.51mn)—and KES 780mn ($6.02mn) for oilfield development, compared to KES 352mn ($2.72mn) previously, according to government figures reported by NTV Kenya.

The National Treasury also confirmed that 23 of the 63 targeted communities in Turkana County have been registered alongside their Community Land Management Committees, and that land demarcation for oil field development is now complete.

Kenya’s renewed push to commercialise its Turkana oil reserves marks a significant shift in a country that has yet to export crude despite discoveries made over a decade ago. In 2012, British company Tullow Oil announced the presence of commercially viable oil in the South Lokichar Basin.

According to Tullow Oil’s 2018 Annual Report and a Reuters article published in June 2023, the basin holds an estimated 560mn barrels of recoverable oil. Kenya aims to use this resource to diversify its economy, improve infrastructure in marginalised regions, and position itself as a new oil producer on the global map.

Tullow Oil discovered the Turkana oil fields in 2012, with initial estimates pointing to commercially viable reserves. However, the project has remained uncommercialised, with TotalEnergies (France) and Africa Oil Corp (Canada), then stakeholders, exiting the project two years ago due to delays. This left Tullow to seek new strategic partners to advance the project.

London-listed Tullow Oil exited the Turkana project after selling its entire stake to Nairobi-based Gulf Energy Ltd for $120mn (approximately KES 15bn), in a deal that includes staged payments, future royalties, and a 30% back-in right.

As bne IntelliNews reported, the deal involved the sale of Tullow Kenya BV, which held Tullow’s full interest in the Lokichar oil project. Gulf Energy will pay $40mn upon completion, another $40mn by June 2026 or earlier if the Field Development Plan is approved, and a final $40mn in instalments between 2028 and 2033.