The State has backed Tullow Oil in the case where the local community in Turkana is seeking billions of shillings in compensation from the British firm for damages linked to the oil project in South Lokichar.
Tullow said the Energy Regulatory and Petroleum Authority (Epra) and the Attorney-General filed responses with the court, where the two denied that the oil project has destroyed the environment and livelihoods of the people living close to the project area.
The locals filed a case at the Environment and Lands Court in Lodwar last year, seeking among others a Sh284 billion environment bond and compensation for pollution of soil and ground water.
“The Ministry of Energy & Petroleum and the Attorney General filed their responses to the petition, denying all allegations made by the 73 petitioners on 19 March 2025,” Tullow said in a trading update last week.
The locals allege that Tullow’s operations on blocks 10BA, 10BB and 13T led to forced displacement, dumping of hazardous waste and oil spillage, leading to deaths of humans and livestock.
They added that the use of synthetic-based oil fluids introduced deadly hydrocarbons into the environment, leading to contamination of both surface and underground water.
Tullow discovered commercially viable oil on three blocks in 2012 in South Lokichar but has since sold the project to Gulf Energy but retains all liabilities of the case with the Turkana locals.
Auron Energy E&P Limited, an affiliate of Gulf Energy, agreed to buy Tullow’s assets in the South Lokichar for a minimum of $120 million (Sh15.49 billion at current exchange rates).
Tullow is set to get additional royalty payments subject to certain conditions.
The sale deal marked an end to Tullow’s 13-year turbulent stay in Kenya where the oil exploration firm unsuccessfully tried to get investors to fund the commercial production of oil.
Tullow expects to receive the first payment of $80 million (Sh10.33 billion at current exchange rates) by end of this year and retains a back-in right for a 30 percent stake in potential future development phases of the project.
