Kenya’s pursuit to drill its first oil deposits in the South Lokichar Basin project in Turkana has been handed a major boost after the country acquired an onshore drilling machine worth Ksh1.9 billion from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The deal was announced by the Gulf Energy E&P BV, a local oil exploration firm, which has contracted the GW70 rig from the United Arab Emirates’ Great Wall Drilling Company under a long-term lease arrangement.
The government plans to deliver its first oil from the South Lokichar Basin by the end of the year and has now been handed a major boost with the acquisition of the rig, which has a 1,500-horsepower capacity.
The machine is set to arrive in the country before June and is set to undergo procedural commissioning and acceptance checks before drilling begins in early July.
At the same time, a high-level delegation from Kenya, including technical officials from the State Department for Petroleum, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), and the Turkana County Government, visited Abu Dhabi to inspect the rig.
The GW70 rig has been undertaking projects for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and has recorded a strong operational track record, combining efficiency with safety.
The South Lokichar Basin development is a Ksh774.1 billion (USD6 billion) project, with Gulf Energy investing in infrastructure, machinery, and human capital in preparation for commercial oil production.
According to records from the Treasury, the government intends to earn between Ksh135.3 billion (USD1.05 billion) and Ksh374.4 billion (USD2.9 billion) during the exploration, figures that are, however, subject to global oil prices.
Kenya intends to share the revenue proceeds from the oil project in line with the Petroleum Act, with the money set to go to the local community, Turkana County and the national government.
According to initial estimates from Tullow Oil and its former joint venture partners, the South Lokichar Basin holds about 560 million barrels of recoverable oil.
However, the oil initially in place (OIP) across the basin could be as high as 4 billion barrels, though only a portion is extractable under current economic and technical conditions.
The South Lokichar Basin region has been the focus of intense exploration since the first major discovery was made by Tullow Oil in 2012 at the Ngamia-1 well.
