Kenya Eyes First Turkana Oil Exports by December 2026 - President William Ruto has set December 2026 as the target for Kenya’s first commercial crude oil exports from the South Lokichar Basin in Turkana, more than 14 years after the discovery.

Speaking at Mashujaa Day celebrations in Eldoret on 20 October, Ruto said work in the basin is “progressing rapidly” and exports should start by year-end.

Oil was found in 2012, but the project stalled for years over money, infrastructure and negotiations. Gulf Energy, through Auron Energy E&P, took over from Tullow Oil in 2025 and is now driving it. The initial phase targets about 20,000 barrels a day, rising later toward 50,000. Regulators say production could start in December, with the first cargoes leaving Mombasa in early 2027.

Longer term, the government wants a pipeline linking Turkana to Lamu, where Aliko Dangote is building a planned 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery. Ruto has said the two sides have agreed on the link, though Turkana crude alone would only cover part of the refinery’s needs.

The December target is ambitious. Officials say the operator is roughly on schedule, but the same old problems financing, roads, and getting the oil to the coast could still delay things.