The 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery will be built in Lamu, positioning Kenya as a major refining hub and marking Dangote Group’s biggest energy investment outside Nigeria.
NAIROBI, Kenya Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote has confirmed that his planned East African oil refinery will be built in Lamu, Kenya, ending months of speculation over whether the multibillion-dollar project would be located in Kenya or neighbouring Tanzania.
The refinery, with a planned processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, is expected to become East Africa’s largest petroleum refinery once completed. Company officials say the project is designed to reduce the region’s dependence on imported refined fuels while strengthening Africa’s energy security.
The announcement was made by Edwin Devakumar, Vice President for Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, who said the company had selected Lamu Island after evaluating commercial, technical and logistical factors. He revealed that site selection has been completed, soil investigations are underway, and engineering and design work has already begun. Construction is expected to take around 30 months to three years.
Dangote Industries plans to finance the refinery through a combination of internally generated cash, corporate bonds and a future initial public offering (IPO) of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery business. Although the company has not disclosed the total investment cost, industry estimates suggest it could be comparable to the more than $20 billion invested in the flagship refinery in Lagos, making it one of the largest private industrial investments in East Africa.
The project forms part of Dangote’s broader strategy to expand refining capacity across the continent. The company’s refinery in Lekki, Lagos, which began commercial operations in 2024 with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has rapidly become a major exporter of refined petroleum products, including jet fuel, diesel and petrol. The new Kenyan facility will complement those operations and significantly expand the group’s footprint in Africa’s downstream petroleum sector.
Officials say the refinery will supply petroleum products to Kenya and neighbouring East African countries, helping reduce the region’s reliance on fuel imports from the Middle East and other international suppliers. The facility is also expected to improve fuel availability, stabilise supply chains and support industrial growth across the region.
The decision to locate the refinery in Kenya follows consultations with regional leaders. Dangote recently met with Samia Suluhu Hassan to explain the commercial reasons behind choosing Lamu over Tanzania and invited Tanzania to participate in the investment. Kenya’s strategic port infrastructure, market size and logistics network were cited as key factors influencing the final decision.
Energy analysts say the refinery could transform East Africa’s energy landscape by boosting local refining capacity, reducing import costs and creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs during construction and operation.
If completed as planned, the Lamu refinery will rank among Africa’s largest refining complexes and further strengthen Dangote’s ambition to build an integrated energy network capable of supplying refined petroleum products across the continent. The investment is also expected to reinforce Kenya’s position as a strategic energy and logistics hub for East Africa.
TNAM
By Egwu Patience Nnennaya
Wednesday July 8, 2026.
