Aliko Dangote is advancing plans to build a massive oil refinery in Kenya valued between $15 billion and $17 billion, in a move that could transform East Africa’s fuel supply chain and reduce the region’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products. The proposed refinery, expected to mirror the scale of Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery, would have a capacity of about 650,000 barrels per day, as reported by Reuters and the Financial Times.
Dangote said he is leaning toward locating the project in Mombasa due to its deeper port infrastructure and larger fuel consumption market compared with Tanzania’s Tanga port. The billionaire industrialist noted that the final decision would depend heavily on support from Kenyan President William Ruto and regional governments, including guarantees around infrastructure, financing, and market protection.
The refinery proposal comes as East African countries discuss creating a shared regional refining hub capable of processing crude oil from Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Regional leaders have argued that a large-scale refinery could strengthen energy security, lower fuel import costs, and shield the region from global supply disruptions linked to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Analysts say the project would rank among the largest industrial investments ever proposed in East Africa and could significantly alter Africa’s downstream oil market if completed. The move also reinforces Dangote’s broader ambition to expand his influence beyond West Africa after the success of his $20 billion refinery in Nigeria, which is already reshaping fuel trade flows across the continent.
Image Credit: Arise News
