Dangote eyes Kenya for $17bn refinery project
May 11, 2026 12:00 am
File: President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote
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Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is considering Kenya as the preferred location for a proposed 650,000 barrels-per-day oil refinery in East Africa, after a previous push to build it in Tanzania.
Dangote disclosed this in an interview with the Financial Times, stating that he was leaning towards the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa due to its port advantages and stronger market potential. Our correspondent obtained an excerpt of the interview on Sunday in Abuja.
The proposed refinery, estimated to cost between $15bn and $17bn, comes barely a year after the full operational take-off of Dangote’s 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery in Lagos, currently regarded as the world’s largest single-train refinery.
According to the report, the planned East African refinery would process crude from Uganda and other global suppliers, while helping to reduce the region’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
The interview read, “Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest industrialist, is eyeing Kenya as the site of a huge 650,000-barrel-a-day oil refinery he intends to build in East Africa, he told the FT, after questions over a previous push to build it in Tanzania.”
He compared Kenya’s port to Tanga, the proposed Tanzanian site for the refinery to process oil from Uganda, and the open market. Dangote estimated it would cost $15bn–$17bn to build.
Dangote said in the interview: “I am leaning more towards Mombasa because Mombasa has a much larger, deeper port.”
“Kenyans consume more. It’s a bigger economy,” he said, adding that crude oil for the refinery could be transported by ship and need not be located near a pipeline that will carry oil nearly 1,500 kilometres from Ugandan oilfields to the Tanzanian coast at Tanga.
The billionaire businessman also stressed that the success of the proposed refinery would depend largely on support from the Kenyan government. “The ball is in the hands of President Ruto. Whatever President Ruto says is what I’ll do,” he stated.
Recall that Africa’s richest man, at an infrastructure summit in Nairobi last month, said he could replicate his 650,000-barrel-a-day Lekki-based refinery in East Africa, provided governments in the region supported the initiative.
The refinery proposal has already sparked diplomatic tensions between Kenya and Tanzania after Kenyan President William Ruto announced plans for a refinery project in Tanzania without prior consultation with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Hassan reportedly expressed displeasure over the announcement, questioning why discussions about a refinery in Tanzania were made public without her knowledge.
“Why did you announce a refinery in Tanga, and I know nothing about it?” she reportedly asked Ruto during a private meeting. The report noted that Dangote may be leveraging competition between the two East African countries to negotiate better investment terms for the project.
However, Dangote insisted Tanzania remained an option if the country could resolve the issues surrounding the proposal. He said, “If they are able to sort themselves out,” the refinery could still be built in Tanzania.
The development comes amid growing concerns over global fuel supply disruptions triggered by tensions in the Middle East and the temporary closure of key shipping routes linked to the Strait of Hormuz.
The situation has renewed calls across Africa for stronger local refining capacity to reduce dependence on imported fuel. East African countries currently import virtually all their refined petroleum products, mostly from the Middle East, making the region highly vulnerable to supply shocks and price spikes.
Dangote stated that for the East African refinery project to proceed, governments in the region must provide policy support and protection against unfair import competition. “There is no refinery in the world that can survive without that protection,” he said.
According to him, cheap fuel imports from countries such as Russia and India could undermine the viability of any refinery project if governments fail to introduce safeguards. “If we have an agreement, we can start this year,” Dangote added.
The industrialist’s confidence follows the successful completion of his $20bn refinery in Lagos after more than a decade of construction. The refinery, located in the Lekki Free Zone, was built despite widespread scepticism over whether a private African company could deliver a project of such scale after years of failed state-owned refining operations in Nigeria.
A senior executive within the Dangote Group, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the businessman now feels vindicated following the refinery’s operational and commercial success. “Dangote feels vindicated, not only by succeeding technically in getting the refinery to work, but also succeeding commercially,” the executive said.
The report noted that the Lagos refinery has reached full production capacity at a time when many countries are struggling with shortages of petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel because of disruptions in global shipping routes.
Unlike several African countries, including Mauritius, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe, which reportedly introduced fuel rationing measures during recent supply disruptions, Nigeria has not experienced widespread scarcity since the Dangote refinery ramped up operations.
The refinery has also emerged as a major supplier of aviation fuel to international airlines facing shortages in Europe. According to the report, Dangote has prioritised jet fuel supplies to Ethiopian Airlines, regarded as Africa’s largest carrier.
Beyond petroleum products, the refinery complex has also strengthened Nigeria’s fertiliser exports through Dangote’s urea production plant, which currently has an annual capacity of three million tonnes.
The report quoted another senior executive as saying recent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East had significantly boosted Dangote’s earnings.
“The Iran war, and the resulting closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has been ‘payday’ for Dangote’s business,” the executive reportedly stated, adding that fertiliser prices had doubled while jet fuel margins widened sharply.
Dangote himself said global oil firms had also benefited from the crisis. “You can see all the other oil companies; their profitability has doubled. So you don’t expect us to do less,” he stated.
A Nigerian entrepreneur, Dimieari Von Kemedi, said the refinery was already changing Nigeria’s energy security outlook. “Even if they close the Strait of Hormuz, it doesn’t concern us. We can produce and refine all the energy we need,” he said.
Kemedi added that many African countries were beginning to realise the dangers of relying entirely on foreign markets for strategic products. “It should not have taken the war in the Middle East to make that obvious,” he added.
President Ruto has also openly praised Dangote’s achievement in building Africa’s largest refinery, describing it as proof that Africans can 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 reportedly said.
Dangote also revealed that he was already working on plans to expand the capacity of his Lagos refinery from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day within the next 30 months.
According to him, the expansion would place the refinery among the largest refining operations globally. “We’ll be price movers in the market,” Dangote said, adding, “If we don’t invest in our own continent, who else will?”
Damilola Aina is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over five years of experience covering energy, business, investment, infrastructure, and property sectors. He specializes in producing well-researched and insightful reports that inform readers and provide clarity on complex topics. Damilola’s work demonstrates practical newsroom experience, editorial insight, and a strong commitment to accurate and engaging journalism.
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