By: OrePulse

A drilling rig valued at more than $20 million reached Kilindini Port in Mombasa, Kenya, on Friday, September 25, 2026, as operator Gulf Energy E&P BV SEZ moves toward first oil at its South Lokichar development in Turkana County by December.

The GW70 rig, rated at 1,500 horsepower, is leased from Great Wall Drilling Company and arrived aboard the vessel MV Transit Sedanka, departing Oman's Duqm Port for the Kenyan coast. Commissioning and acceptance checks on the unit are now underway at the port before it is moved inland to the South Lokichar basin, where it will be used to drill wells for the project.

Gulf Energy said drilling operations are set to begin November 1. The company reaffirmed that first oil remains targeted for December 2026, with the initial crude exports moving through Mombasa expected to follow in the first quarter of 2027.

Chief executive Paul Limoh said the company's various workstreams remain on a tight project schedule. "All workstreams at Gulf Energy E&P BV SEZ are running to a tight project management schedule, and the project remains on course for First Oil production in December 2026," Limoh said.

Production at South Lokichar is planned in two phases. The field is expected to produce 20,000 barrels of oil per day once output begins, rising to 50,000 barrels per day in a subsequent phase as more wells come online. The drilling campaign and associated infrastructure fall under a $6 billion investment program covering the wider development.

Two oilfield services contractors are supporting the buildout alongside the rig lessor. Baker Hughes is handling integrated well services for the drilling campaign, while SLB is supplying the Early Production Facility. This surface infrastructure will gather and process crude from the wells before it moves toward export.

Kenyan officials project the South Lokichar development could ultimately deliver more than $2.9 billion in government revenue over its lifetime. That estimate is not fixed, however: officials have said it depends on international crude prices and on how much oil the field actually produces once it is in operation.

The rig's arrival is a tangible logistics milestone in a project that has moved from appraisal drilling toward field development in the Turkana basin. If the current schedule holds, Kenya would move from exploration and appraisal into commercial crude exports within roughly six months, positioning the country as a new oil producer in East Africa. Gulf Energy has not indicated any change to the December first-oil target or the broader phased production plan since the rig arrived on the coast.