Dangote-backed mega oil refinery to be built in Kenya

A 700,000-bpd east African oil refinery proposed by Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, will be built in Kenya, a senior company official said Tuesday, putting a lid on speculation over the location of the mega-project.

The massive refinery — similar to Dangote's sprawling complex in Nigeria — will be based in Lamu, an island off the coast of Kenya, Edwin Devakumar, the vice president in charge of oil and gas at Dangote Industries Limited, told AFP.

It will take around 30 months to build the facility in east Africa's largest economy.

The refinery is viewed as a potential game changer for a region that remains heavily dependent on imported refined fuel, despite having significant crude oil reserves. 

Initially Tanzania was also one of the locations considered for the refinery.

Nigerian billionaire Dangote was in Tanzania late last month where he held talks with President Samia Suluhu Hassan and explained "the commercial and technical considerations behind the Group's decision to locate its planned East African refinery in Lamu", according to a statement from his office.

He also invited Tanzania to participate in the Lamu investment.

The Nigerian industrialist had previously said he was leaning toward the Kenyan city of Mombasa, before making the Lamu announcement.

Dangote, whose 650,000-bpd refinery in Nigeria came online in 2024, is the largest on the continent and plans to more than double its capacity to 1.4 million bpd — which would make it the largest refinery globally — by 2028.