Gulf Energy E&P BV has reaffirmed its commitment to invest nearly $6 billion in Kenya’s South Lokichar Oil Project while maintaining international best practices throughout the crude oil production journey in Turkana County. The company’s Chairman, Francis Njogu, described the initiative as the single most significant private-sector-driven upstream petroleum investment in Kenya’s history during a Joint Parliamentary Committee of Energy meeting. Njogu announced an ambitious target to commence crude oil production by December 1, 2026, pending expeditious ratification of the Field Development Plan. Both the Field Development Plan and Production Sharing Agreements place strong emphasis on local content development, community engagement, and alignment of mutual benefits. These commitments are reinforced through social investments and strict adherence to a robust, ring-fenced Local Content Strategy designed to deliver long-term socio-economic benefits for Turkana County and Kenya as a whole.
The Chairman assured that Gulf Energy is approaching the project as Kenyans with a vision to create maximum employment opportunities and business openings for Kenyan citizens, starting with the Turkana host community. Gulf Energy E&P BV is an indigenously owned company with substantial financial resources to support capital-intensive projects, having established robust financial partnerships and active lines of credit with leading local and international banking and financial institutions.
According to government projections, Kenya stands to gain significant fiscal and economic benefits, with potential earnings ranging between $1.05 billion and $2.9 billion over the project’s lifetime, translating to between 136 billion and 371 billion Kenyan shillings depending on oil price scenarios. Parliament is expected to deliberate on the Field Development Plan and Production Sharing Contracts before deciding on ratification in the coming weeks.
Source: allafrica.com