Oil and Gas Exploration History in Kenya
Petroleum exploration in Kenya began in the 1950s within the Lamu Basin. It was not until 2012 that the first commercially viable oil discovery was made in the Tertiary Rift, followed by significant gas discoveries in the offshore Lamu Basin. As of 2025, 95 wells have been drilled across Kenya, with a majority located in the Tertiary Rift. The exploration and appraisal work in the Lokichar sub-basin by Tullow Plc and its partners has led to the estimation of 2.91 billion barrels of Stock Tank Oil Initially in Place (STOIIP), with 2C resources estimated at 585 million barrels.
National Oil Corporation of Kenya, through its National Data Centre (NDC), maintains a comprehensive inventory of petroleum exploration data collected across the country. This includes seismic data, well logs, reports, aeromagnetic and gravity data, all archived in both digital and analog formats. Additionally, National Oil manages a core and drill-cuttings repository that contains physical samples retrieved from wells drilled since the 1950s.
At its Kawi House premises in Nairobi, National Oil also operates a Seismic Processing Centre and a Geochemical-Petrophysical Laboratory, further supporting data interpretation, reservoir characterization, and exploration planning for the Kenyan upstream sector.
LAMU BASIN
British Petroleum (BP) and Shell began hydrocarbon exploration in 1954 in the Lamu Embayment. Between 1960 and 1971, they drilled nine exploration wells, including Pandangua-1, Walu-1, Dodori-1, and Kipini-1. While several encountered hydrocarbon shows, none were evaluated to completion or declared commercial. These early efforts were supported by the acquisition of over 11,000 km of 2D seismic, 29,000 km of aeromagnetic, and 3,800 km of gravity data.
In 1975, Texas Pacific drilled Hargaso-1, which recorded oil and gas shows. From 1985 to 1996, Amoco and Total drilled additional wells, encountering minor hydrocarbon indications but no significant discoveries. Offshore exploration in the 1970s–80s saw the drilling of Simba-1 (dry), Maridadi-1, and Kofia-1, all of which showed hydrocarbons. A basin-wide study by National Oil between 1991 and 1995 led to the subdivision of the Lamu Basin into 10 blocks, later expanded to 12 by 2001.
Following large gas discoveries in Mozambique (2003), interest in offshore East Africa surged. In 2003, Kenya gazetted new offshore blocks and allowed Woodside Petroleum to farm into seven of them. Woodside acquired over 11,000 km of 2D seismic and drilled Pomboo-1 (dry) in 2007. Later, Mbawa-1 yielded a gas discovery, while Kiboko-1, Kubwa-1, and Sunbird-1 (oil and gas shows) followed. In 2022, ENI Kenya B.V. drilled Mlima-1 in ultra-deep waters (Block L5, former L11B), highlighting Kenya’s growing offshore potential.
TERTIARY RIFT BASIN
Before the 1980s, the Tertiary Rift was largely overlooked. Shell’s drilling of Eliye Springs-1 (dry) in 1992 and Loperot-1 (oil shows) in 1993 showed some promise. However, activity paused until the mid-2000s. The discovery of oil in Uganda’s Albertine Graben in 2006 renewed interest in Kenya’s rift systems. Tullow and Africa Oil acquired seismic data and in 2012 drilled Ngamia-1 in Block T6 (former Block 10BB), encountering over 100 meters of net oil pay, Kenya’s first commercial discovery.
Since then, over 40 exploration and appraisal wells have been drilled in the Lokichar sub-basin, supported by extensive 2D and 3D seismic. Joint field development planning between Tullow, the Ministry of Exploration and Petroleum, and National Oil is ongoing to determine the most viable production strategies. National Oil has also acquired FTG, MT, aeromagnetic, and seismic data in its own acreage (Block T11, former 14T), drilling two stratigraphic wells in 2018.
MANDERA BASIN
Initial field surveys in the 1960s and 70s by Frobisher Ltd and Burmah Oil included gravity and seismic acquisition but no drilling. Amoco drilled Elgal-1 and Elgal-2 in 1987; both were dry. Total E&P acquired 707 km of 2D seismic in 1990. More recently, Lion Petroleum and EAX conducted seismic acquisition between 2008 and 2013. In 2015, Lion drilled Badada-1, which was also dry, though the basin remains underexplored.
ANZA BASIN
Seismic acquisition began in 1975 by Whitestone. Later work by Chevron, Total, Amoco, Shell, and the Ministry of Energy expanded coverage. Chevron drilled Anza-1 and Bahati-1; Total drilled Ndovu-1 (gas shows), Duma-1 (gas), and Kaisut-1 (dry); Amoco drilled several wells (e.g., Sirius-1, Chalbi-3, Hothori-1) with hydrocarbon shows.
From 2007 onwards, modern operators such as Africa Oil, CNOOC, Tullow, Lion Petroleum, and Vanoil acquired more data and drilled new wells. CNOOC’s Bogal-1 (2009) encountered 2.5 Tcf of gas in place. Tullow’s Paipai-1 (2013) showed light hydrocarbons. Africa Oil’s Sala-1 (2014) recorded gas in three distinct zones over a 1,000m interval, though the follow-up Sala-2 failed to confirm commercial potential.
2025 LICENSING ROUNDS AND BLOCK RESTRUCTURING
In 2025, Kenya restructured its petroleum exploration acreage into 50 blocks based on basin potential and available data. A comprehensive block ranking exercise was conducted using geoscientific criteria, including seismic coverage, well data, number of prospects, FTG/gravity data, and exploration risk. As part of its first licensing round scheduled for September 2025, the country plans to offer 10 of these blocks for competitive bidding. The selected blocks are all located within the Lamu and Anza basins.