Petroleum

1. Upstream

The Division is headed by a Senior Deputy Commissioner, Petroleum, It is organized into the following four (4) Divisions: -

1.    Petroleum Geological Exploration;
2.    Petroleum Geophysical Survey;
3.    Petroleum Geochemical Analysis; and
4.    Petroleum Engineering.

2.  The Mid/Downstream

The Division is headed by a Senior Deputy Commissioner, Petroleum. It is organized into the following two (2) divisions:-

1.    Midstream
2.    Downstream

1.    South Lokichar Oil Field Development 

Parliament ratified the South Lokichar Field Development Plan (FDP) and the Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) for Blocks T6 and T7 located within the Tertiary Rift Basin in Turkana County.

Project Overview

The project targets development of six fields with the South Lokichar Basin on phased and joint development strategy using shared infrastructure for viability. 

Phase 1: Production of 20,000 barrels per day with first oil expected by December 2026 utilizing Early Oil Production Facilities (EPF). Crude oil will be transported by trucks to KPRL for storage before export.

Phase 2: Production of 50,000 barrels per day from 2032 involve construction of Central Processing Facility (CPF). Crude oil will be transported via rail to KPRL for storage before export.

2.    Upstream Land Acquisition and Development of Makeup Water Pipeline

The proposed Turkwel–Lokichar Water Transmission Pipeline Project is located within West Pokot and Turkana Counties in north-western Kenya. The Pipeline is supposed to supply; Raw Water Pipeline To Lokichar Oil Fields and Treated Water Transmission Pipeline.

The Make-up Water Pipeline with approximate length of 104 km  is designed to convey 79,150m3/day for both  oil extraction demand of 16,534m3/day and domestic water demand of 62,616m3/day.

3.    Environmental Management – South Lokichar

The State Department for Petroleum has undertaken comprehensive environmental management interventions in South Lokichar to support upstream petroleum development. These include oversight of Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs), implementation of Environmental Management Plans (EMPs), continuous environmental monitoring and compliance enforcement in collaboration with relevant regulatory agencies, and integration of biodiversity conservation, waste management, water resource protection, and community health and safety measures. The Department has also facilitated stakeholder engagement and local community participation to ensure sustainable petroleum operations aligned with national environmental laws and international best practices.

4.    Petroleum Resource Assessment Programme

The project involves, evaluation, processing and reprocessing of existing data, acquisition of new data and repackaging and development of promotional data sets and material. The aim of the project is promote and market the upstream petroleum potential to investors.

The Objectives including the following:

1. Preliminary data acquisition in open blocks
2. Reprocessing of existing data sets
3. Data re-evaluation and repackaging 
4. Conducting of licensing rounds
5. Establishing chance of geological success and credibility in vacant petroleum exploration blocks.  
6. Reducing subsurface uncertainty at basin and block scale; “improving our understanding of what lies beneath the surface”, 
   

5.    Marketing and Promotion of Oil & Gas investments

Objective: 

1. Develop targeted promotional materials to support licensing rounds and effectively market Kenya’s oil and gas potential to investors.The State Department has so far:
2. Demarcated 50 exploration blocks, 46 blocks are open for promotion
3. Developed technical atlases for Blocks 9 (Currently A3), L8, L21 & A3
4. Developed promotional materials for premium blocks earmarked for the Promoted Kenya’s  Oil and Gas Potential in Local and
5. International conferences (GEOCE,  EAPCE’25, IEK32, CAG30, AOW, ESRI User, etc.). targeting Kenya’s First Licensing Round.
6. Developed terms of reference for consultancy services to support data packaging and licensing rounds.
   

B.    MID/DOWNSTREAM PROJECTS

a)    Enhanced LPG Uptake Programme (ELUP)

The LPG National Growth Strategy was approved by the Cabinet in October 2023. The Strategy is aligned with the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) to increase LPG uptake as a clean and transition energy of choice in the country.

The Strategy is being undertaken through multiple thematic initiatives to holistically address the barriers to LPG penetration across the entire value chain.

b)    Initiatives Under the Strategy

c)    The LPG for Public Institutions of Learning Programme

Over 30,000 learners and members of the school community are now benefiting from clean cooking solutions under the Programme, marking a major milestone in advancing safe and sustainable energy use in public institutions.

A pilot phase has been successfully implemented across 21 public institutions in 20 counties, covering 3 TVET institutions, 2 special education schools, and 16 secondary schools, demonstrating a scalable and inclusive national model.

All 21 institutions were equipped with LPG infrastructure systems, delivering a combined storage capacity of 41 tonnes, with tailored tank configurations to meet institutional demand—significantly enhancing energy reliability, safety, and efficiency.