Kenya is set to begin extracting oil in Turkana before December, with crude transport from the region also expected to start within the same period, President William Ruto has said.
Speaking on Thursday during a media interview at State House, Mombasa, Ruto said the government was already working to move the country’s oil production forward.
“We will start extracting the oil in Turkana before December this year, and we will have begun transporting it from there," Ruto said.
The announcement comes as Kenya prepares to develop the planned Lamu refinery, which is expected to use crude from Turkana alongside oil sourced from international markets.
Ruto said Turkana crude would be moved to Lamu through a pipeline to be developed as part of the refinery project.
“We have agreed with Dangote that he will invest in a pipeline from Lamu to Turkana so that we can bring the oil from Turkana to Lamu,” Ruto said.
The President said Kenya’s own crude production would not be enough to meet the refinery’s needs, meaning the facility would have to rely on supplies from other markets.
“Even Turkana cannot give you 700,000 barrels. So we will get crude from everywhere,” he said.
The proposed refinery is expected to process up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, with Turkana oil forming part of the feedstock alongside imported crude.
Ruto compared the planned Lamu facility with Dangote’s refinery in Lagos, Nigeria, which he said also sources crude from different markets.
He added that the Lamu refinery would produce aviation fuel and other petroleum products for Kenya and the wider regional market.
The refinery is also expected to be part of a wider industrial complex in Lamu, with plans to attract investments in petrochemicals, chemicals and plastics manufacturing.