Kenya to start extracting and transporting Turkana oil before December

President William Ruto during the launch of Dangote Refinery in Lamu on Septmeber 30, 2026. [PCS]

President William Ruto has said Kenya expects to begin extracting  crude oil from Turkana and transporting it before December, as the country moves to secure domestic supplies for the planned Lamu refinery.

Speaking during a media interview at State House Mombasa, Ruto said preparations were already underway to advance oil production in Turkana, where Kenya’s commercial oil discoveries have been concentrated.

“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 the government seeks to develop the proposed Lamu refinery into a major petroleum and industrial hub. The refinery is expected to process crude from Kenya as well as supplies sourced from international markets.

Ruto said an agreement had been reached with Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote for investment in a pipeline connecting Turkana to Lamu. The proposed infrastructure would provide a route through which crude produced in northern Kenya could be transported to the coastal refinery.

“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 proposed pipeline raises a significant infrastructure question for Kenya: how quickly can the country establish the transportation network needed to connect its inland oil fields with a major processing facility on the coast?

The President also acknowledged that Kenya’s domestic crude reserves would not be sufficient to supply the entire feedstock requirements of the planned refinery.

“Even Turkana cannot give you 700,000 barrels. So we will get crude from everywhere,” he said.

The proposed refinery is expected to have a processing capacity of up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day. That capacity means Turkana production would form only part of the refinery’s supply, with additional crude expected to be sourced from international markets.

Ruto compared the proposed model with the Dangote refinery in Lagos, Nigeria, which draws crude from different sources rather than relying entirely on domestic production.

The approach would allow Kenya to combine local crude with imported supplies, potentially giving the Lamu facility access to a wider range of feedstock while maintaining a market for oil produced domestically.

The refinery is also being presented as more than a facility for processing crude. The government expects it to produce aviation fuel and other petroleum products for Kenya and the wider East African market.

Its development is linked to plans for a broader industrial complex in Lamu, with the government seeking to attract investment in petrochemical, chemical and plastics manufacturing.

The proposed industrial ecosystem could create additional demand for petroleum products and by-products, while supporting employment, trade and other economic activities around the refinery.