Key Points
- Dangote Industries Limited has commenced preliminary work on its proposed $17 billion refinery in Kenya.
- The 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery will be located on Lamu Island and is expected to become East Africa’s largest refining facility.
- Site selection has been completed, while soil testing, engineering and design work are already underway.
- The project forms part of the group’s plan to raise its combined refining capacity to 2.1 million barrels per day across Nigeria and Kenya.
- The investment is expected to reduce East Africa’s reliance on imported petroleum products and strengthen regional energy security.
Main Story
Dangote Industries Limited has commenced preliminary work on its proposed $17 billion refinery in Kenya, marking a major milestone in its ambition to expand refining capacity across Africa.
The proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery, which will be located on Lamu Island, is expected to become East Africa’s largest refining facility upon completion and significantly reduce the region’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
According to company officials, the project has progressed beyond the planning stage, with the site already selected, soil investigations ongoing and engineering and design work underway ahead of full-scale construction.
The refinery is expected to supply refined petroleum products to Kenya and neighbouring East African countries, improving fuel security and supporting regional trade.
Speaking on the project, Vice President for Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries, Devakumar Edwin, confirmed that substantial preparatory work had already commenced.
He said the company selected Kenya from the outset and identified Lamu as the preferred location based on commercial and technical considerations.
The investment follows earlier commitments by President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, to establish a refinery in East Africa after discussions with the Presidents of Kenya and Uganda.
Earlier this year, Kenyan President William Ruto announced that construction of the refinery would commence in 2026.
The proposed refinery will mirror the design of the group’s flagship refinery in Lagos and process approximately 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Although the company did not disclose the final investment cost, officials indicated it would be comparable to the Lagos refinery, which eventually exceeded $20 billion following engineering changes, currency depreciation, the COVID-19 pandemic and global inflationary pressures.
According to Edwin, the Kenyan refinery will be financed through a combination of internally generated funds, bond issuances and proceeds from the company’s planned initial public offering (IPO).
The project represents Dangote Industries’ largest refining investment outside Nigeria and forms part of a broader continental expansion strategy.
The company is simultaneously expanding the capacity of its Lagos refinery from 700,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028, positioning the Nigerian facility among the world’s largest refining complexes.
Combined with the proposed Kenyan refinery, Dangote aims to increase its total refining capacity to 2.1 million barrels per day, comprising 1.4 million barrels per day in Nigeria and 700,000 barrels per day in Kenya.
Beyond refining, the company has also announced plans to invest an additional $46 billion between 2026 and 2028 across its refining, cement and fertiliser businesses to accelerate industrial development across Africa.
The Issues
Africa remains one of the world’s leading crude oil-producing regions but continues to rely heavily on imported refined petroleum products because of inadequate refining infrastructure.
Although the continent produces about seven per cent of global crude oil output, decades of underinvestment, ageing facilities and operational inefficiencies have constrained refining capacity, forcing many countries to export crude oil while importing expensive refined fuels.
This dependence has exposed African economies to volatile global oil prices, foreign exchange pressures and supply chain disruptions.
The success of the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria has renewed interest in domestic refining, with several African countries now pursuing similar investments to improve energy security, reduce fuel imports and support industrialisation.
What’s Being Said
Devakumar Edwin
“The site has been selected, soil tests are underway, and design and engineering work has commenced. Kenya was the choice from the beginning.”
William Ruto
The Kenyan President earlier announced that construction of the refinery would commence this year as part of the country’s drive to strengthen energy infrastructure.
What’s Next
Dangote Industries will continue engineering, design and site preparation before commencing full construction of the refinery.
Once completed, the project is expected to reshape fuel supply dynamics across East Africa by reducing dependence on imported refined products, strengthening regional trade and supporting industrial growth.
The company will also continue expanding its Lagos refinery, with total refining capacity projected to reach 2.1 million barrels per day across Nigeria and Kenya by 2028.
Bottom Line
The proposed Kenyan refinery marks one of Africa’s most ambitious downstream energy investments and underscores Dangote Industries’ growing influence in the continent’s refining sector. If delivered as planned, the project could significantly improve East Africa’s energy security, stimulate regional industrialisation and further shift Africa from being primarily an exporter of crude oil to a producer of refined petroleum products.
