Turkana County played host to a two-day public participation forum organized by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), bringing together national and county leaders, community representatives, and industry stakeholders to deliberate on petroleum regulations and emerging opportunities for local communities.
Addressing the gathering, a government official emphasized Turkana’s strategic place in Kenya’s petroleum journey, recalling the 2012 oil discovery that followed years of exploration.
“We can say Turkana is the top of the spear. Oil was discovered here in 2012, and there was work going on between 2006 and 2012 when we had the first discovery, but this was based on the 1984 law, the Petroleum Development and Production Act.”
“The 2010 Constitution of Kenya came, and we then developed the Petroleum Bill 2015, which became the Petroleum Act 2019, and today we are in a space in the year 2025 where we are seeking how to exploit the resource for the benefit of not only the people of Kenya but the people of Turkana specifically. These regulations are setting the stage for the exploitation of the resource.”
The official further highlighted the evolution of investors in Kenya’s oil sector, noting that Turkana Drilling Limited was the first company to sign a production-sharing contract with the government before transitioning through Africa Oil, Tullow, Maersk Oil, and Total.
“Today, there is a transition of one of the investors, international investor who has been the last man standing as it were which is Tullow who are almost concluding a process of a sale and purchase agreement between them and the UK company and an indigenous Kenyan consortia through the Gulf Energy Group seeking to take over this resource so that it can be developed by Kenyans for Kenyans,” the official added, urging Turkana residents to engage actively in the process and provide feedback on the regulations.
Turkana Deputy Governor Dr. John Erus underscored the county government’s commitment to ensuring that oil resources are harnessed in a way that benefits local communities.
“The county government has already completed the countywide special plan that identified these regions and areas so that we can map them, both as identifying the resources for key investments as well as expanding the opportunities that we need to develop so that Turkana just like any other county can grow both in terms of economic resources as well as the contribution of revenue to the county government,” he said.
Dr. Erus also confirmed that the county had prioritized land registration and regularization in oil-rich areas such as South Lokichar Basin to protect community interests.
“Even the questions that were raised in terms of land ownership and its use, the communities within South Lokichar Basin have their land registered, some of them have certificates of titles and also certificates for leases for those specific pieces of land. The benefits that they are going to receive as a result of that is something that we prioritise as the county government,” he explained.
To address community concerns over environmental impact, the Deputy Governor noted that Turkana has developed three key policies, including a land use policy supported by the International Finance Corporation, and a waste management policy to tackle issues left from previous operations.
He urged the regulator to incorporate community views raised during the public consultations to ensure environmental protection.
Dr. Erus also called for unity among leaders and residents to avoid politicization of oil extraction matters.
“We all have to work together and I agree with the local community and I totally back the idea that county participation raised a concern that we need all the leaders not to politicize issues that are directed towards extraction of oil so that we can all work together to support each other so that we build infrastructure necessary to extract oil so that it supports both the local communities in which these oil wells are established and also the county government as well as add into the national domestic product for economy to grow,” he said.
The EPRA-led forum highlighted the critical role of regulatory compliance, land policy, and inclusive dialogue in ensuring that Turkana’s oil resources become a true driver of local development and national prosperity.