Daniel Kiptoo Bargoria, EPRA Director General speaking during the public participation held in Nairobi on Thursday.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has put forward seven draft regulations to deepen the upstream and midstream petroleum value chains in Kenya, to enhance openness, lure investors, and safeguard local communities as well as the environment.
During a public participation forum in Nairobi, the new regulations were introduced to serve as the foundation for managing the country’s burgeoning petroleum industry.
Comprehensive regulatory framework
The regulations presented cover the main areas of the petroleum sector. The Petroleum (Upstream Management and Administration) Regulations and Petroleum (Upstream Operations) Regulations provide the processes for block allocation, permit issuance, and the carrying out of exploration, appraisal, and production activities.
Besides, the Upstream Petroleum Costs Management Regulation provides a systematic method of recovering costs, thus encouraging the efficient and fair use of resources. These initiatives seek to increase Kenya’s earnings and profits from its oil resources through the normalisation of fiscal reporting and the enforcement of tight cost controls.
The Local Content Regulation requires foreign companies to partner with local Kenyan companies, train local workers, and implement multi-year research projects with Kenyan academic institutions so that local people can benefit from the sector’s rise.
On the other hand, the Midstream segment, the Pipeline and Storage Operations Regulation sets up a safety system and technical standards for oil and gas transport by land and storage in a tank or any other area.
Moreover, the Draft Petroleum (Upstream and Midstream Environment, Health and Safety) Regulations, 2025, which chiefly deal with risk management, environmental protection, and human welfare in the upstream and midstream operations, are here to provide a complement to these.
Driving Responsible Resource Management
EPRA Director General Daniel Kiptoo Bargoria conveyed the message of the regulations during the Nairobi forum thus,
“These regulations encourage ethical business practices, guarantee the quality and safety of products/services, keep environmental sustainability in check, and enable reliable data collection for informed policymaking.”
Creating an investor-friendly atmosphere is one of the regulation’s major objectives; in this way, the capital will be attracted, but at the same time, resource management and community engagement will be upheld responsibly.
Nationwide stakeholder engagement
As a way of ensuring inclusivity, EPRA has conducted the workshops in Mombasa, Meru, and Garissa. Apart from these three, the sessions planned in Eldoret, Lodwar, and Kisumu will provide the opportunity for stakeholders from across the country to submit feedback, and hence, the regulations will natively represent the locally diverse opinions.
Kenya’s Growing Petroleum Sector
The petroleum sector in Kenya has been developing rapidly ever since the groundbreaking discovery of four billion barrels of oil reserves in Turkana’s Lokichar region in 2012, the Lokichar oil field has been estimated to contain around 560 million barrels.
The plans for commercial production are underway, aiming to achieve the target of 80,000 barrels per day to be transported through the upcoming Lokichar-Lamu pipeline. If and when these regulations go into effect, they will form a framework that is both open and accountable, thus making sure Kenya gets the highest value of its petroleum resources while sustainability and local benefits are given priority.
The draft regulations are open to public comments on EPRA’s website via https://www.epra.go.ke/index.php/upstream-petroleum-regulatory-instruments