Oil and gas exploration has been ongoing in Turkana County by licensed explorers: CESPA, Tullow Oil and Adamantine energy since 2010. It is reported that about 66,000 Km2, or approximately 86% of Turkana County’s land mass, is licensed for oil and gas exploration in blocks 10BA, 10BB, 11A, 11B,12A, and 13T. The licensing is as summarized in table 4-1. In 2012, Tullow Oil made the first oil discovery in the South Lokichar basin, Ngamia-1 well in Block 10BB. Since 2012, Tullow has drilled more than 11 wells in Turkana County and made oil discoveries in Twiga South-1, Etuko-1, Ekales-1, Agete-1, Amosing-1 and Ewoi-1 exploration wells. It is estimated that the South Lokichar Basin has a resource potential of over one billion barrels of oil.
Table 4-1: Oil exploration licenses for Turkana County
Following these discoveries, appraisals and testing activities were conducted in the South Lokichar Basin in 2015, with nine appraisals and five Extended Well Tests (EWTs) completed at the Ngamia and Amosing fields. In March 2016, Tullow Oil announced discovery of good oil shows at the Cheptuket-1 well in Block 12A. Cheptuket-1 is the first well to test the Kerio Valley Basin, part of which is in Turkana County, and represents Kenya’s most significant well result outside of the South Lokichar Basin. Post-well analysis is ongoing in the basin.
Following confirmation of commercial quantities of oil in Turkana, the Early Oil Pilot (EOPS) scheme was set up as an initiative by the Government of Kenya (GoK) and the Kenya Joint Venture (Tullow Oil, Africa Oil Corporation and Maersk) to use the existing road infrastructure to transport crude oil from Lokichar to Mombasa for export. The key objectives for EOPS were to enable Full Field Development and establish Kenya as an oil exporter commencing with testing the international market for Turkana crude. Although the project did not generate profits, it was envisaged that the scheme would create an investment case that would capture the immediate non-monetary benefits of early oil for the key stakeholders involved. While the EOPS has been completed Tullow is yet to make an investment decision.