GW70 Drilling Rig Arrives in Mombasa as Kenya's Oil Production Plans Move Forward
Kenya's bid to produce commercial oil in Turkana has received significant momentum with the arrival of an onshore drilling rig at the Port of Mombasa. The GW70 rig, valued at over Ksh2.59 billion (USD20 million), will be transported by road to the South Lokichar Basin for use in the country's first commercial crude oil production project.
The project, led by Gulf Energy E&P BV SEZ, aims to produce 20,000 barrels of crude oil per day during its first phase before increasing output to 50,000 barrels per day. The company plans to begin drilling on November 1 and hopes to achieve commercial production by December 2026.
The government projects potential lifetime earnings of over Ksh375.7 billion (USD2.9 billion) from the South Lokichar Basin, depending on global oil prices and production levels. This comes as investor Aliko Dangote prepares to build a proposed Ksh1.94 trillion to Ksh2.07 trillion refinery in Lamu, which is expected to have a capacity of 700,000 barrels per day.
The arrival of the rig marks a significant step towards Kenya's commercial oil production plans, which have been under exploration since Tullow Oil announced the first major discovery at the Ngamia-1 well in 2012. The basin is estimated to hold up to 4 billion barrels of oil initially in place.