Turkana, in northwest Kenya, is the country’s poorest and least developed county. Pastoralism in Turkana is well adapted to the harsh climatic conditions but an increasein drought frequency associated with global climate change and intensifying violent5 conflicts between pastoral groups, poses significant challenges for local communities.The conflicts are especially violent in the border region between the Turkana andthe Pokot communities. In this very region significant oil reserves have been foundrecently. The first aim of this paper is to analyse how the oil exploration aects thecommunities’ vulnerability to climate change. Secondly, the paper explores the risk of10 the oil explorations to create new conflicts or aggravate existing ones. The primarymethod of the study is qualitative field research supplemented with a geo-spatialanalysis of conflict data. The field research was conducted in October 2013 andApril 2014 in three villages with dierent levels of engagement with the oil exploration.At the time of the research, oil exploration was expected close to Lokwamosing while it15 had recently started in the vicinity of Lopii and had been ongoing for a longer time closeto Nakukulas. The findings suggest that the oil exploration increases the community’svulnerability to climate change. Further, unmet community expectations for water,employment and development pose a significant risk for violent conflict between localcommunities and the operating