Dangote Considers Kenya for Proposed $17bn Oil Refinery

Aliko Dangote has disclosed plans to establish a major oil refinery in Kenya, with projected investment estimated between $15 billion and $17 billion.

Dangote said the proposed refinery, expected to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day, may be located in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa.

Speaking in an interview with the Financial Times, the President of Dangote Group said Kenya appeared more attractive than Tanzania because of its larger market size and port infrastructure.

“I’m leaning more towards Mombasa because Mombasa has a much larger, deeper port,” Dangote said.

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The billionaire businessman noted that Kenya’s stronger fuel demand and economic size provided better commercial prospects for the project.

“Kenyans consume more. It’s a bigger economy,” he added.

The refinery project was previously linked to Tanzania’s coastal city of Tanga, where crude oil from Uganda is expected to arrive through the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.

However, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan recently criticised the earlier announcement, saying her government had not been adequately consulted.

Dangote said crude supply logistics would not prevent the refinery from being located in Kenya because crude oil could be transported by sea rather than relying entirely on pipeline infrastructure.

According to him, discussions with Kenyan authorities remain critical to the project’s future.

“The ball is in the hands of President Ruto. Whatever President Ruto says is what I’ll do,” Dangote stated.

He explained that the project would require government support, including land allocation, financing from East African institutions and measures to protect the refinery from cheap imported fuel products.

“There is no refinery in the world that can survive without that protection,” he said.

Dangote added that the refinery could still be developed in Tanzania if outstanding issues were resolved.

“If we have an agreement, we can start this year,” he said.

The Nigerian businessman said the success of the 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Refinery in Lagos had strengthened confidence in expanding refining investments across Africa.

According to him, the Lagos refinery was completed after more than a decade of development despite widespread doubts about its viability.

The refinery has recently benefited from disruptions in global fuel supply chains linked to tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.

The facility has increased exports of refined petroleum products, including jet fuel supplied to European airlines facing shortages.

Dangote also confirmed that the refinery has prioritised jet fuel supplies to Ethiopian Airlines as demand rises across international markets.

He disclosed plans to expand the Lagos refinery’s processing capacity from 650,000 barrels per day to about 1.4 million barrels per day within the next 30 months.

According to Dangote, the expansion would position the refinery among the largest refining operations globally, comparable to facilities operated by Reliance Industries.

“We’ll be price movers in the market,” Dangote said.

Kenyan President William Ruto praised Dangote’s investment drive, saying the Nigerian entrepreneur had demonstrated Africa’s ability to execute large-scale industrial projects.

“Nigeria has been a producer of oil for all the years that we know. Yet, when you went to Nigeria, there were queues of people looking for fuel in petrol stations until one African stepped forward and built a refinery,” Ruto said.

Dangote said African investors must continue financing transformative projects across the continent.

“If we don’t, who else will?” he said.