Africa’s richest businessman, Aliko Dangote, has selected Kenya as the location for a proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery that will serve the East African market.
A senior official of the Dangote Group confirmed that the refinery will be built in Lamu, a coastal town in Kenya, ending months of speculation over the preferred location of the mega-project.
Vice President for Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Edwin Devakumar, disclosed that the refinery would be developed over an estimated period of 30 months. The project is expected to mirror the scale and operational model of the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, which commenced operations in 2024.
Kenya emerged as the preferred destination despite earlier considerations of Tanzania. Dangote recently visited Tanzania, where he held discussions with President Samia Suluhu Hassan. During the meeting, he reportedly outlined the commercial and technical factors that influenced the decision to site the refinery in Lamu and invited Tanzania to participate in the investment.
Prior to the announcement, Dangote had indicated interest in locating the refinery in Mombasa before settling on Lamu.
The planned refinery forms part of Dangote Industries’ broader expansion strategy across Africa’s energy sector. The group’s existing 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lagos has significantly altered Nigeria’s petroleum industry by reducing dependence on imported fuel and boosting local refining capacity.
The company is also pursuing plans to increase the refinery’s capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028, a move that could make it the largest refinery in the world.
In addition to supplying refined petroleum products to the domestic market, the Dangote Refinery exports aviation fuel and other petroleum products to destinations including the United States, Europe and several African countries.
Industry analysts believe the proposed East African refinery could strengthen regional energy security, reduce fuel import dependence and support economic growth across the region.
