Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is pushing ahead with plans to build a multi-billion-dollar oil refinery in Kenya, a move that could dramatically reshape East Africa’s energy sector and sideline earlier talks of a regional refinery project.
The Nigerian billionaire revealed that he is considering the coastal city of Mombasa for the proposed refinery, which is expected to cost between $15 billion and $17 billion and produce up to 650,000 barrels of refined petroleum products daily.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Financial Times, Dangote said Mombasa stood out because of its stronger infrastructure and strategic economic advantage.
“I’m leaning more towards Mombasa because Mombasa has a much larger, deeper port,” he said.
Dangote also noted that Kenya’s economy and fuel consumption levels made the country a more attractive destination for the investment.
“Kenyans consume more. It’s a bigger economy,” he added.
If completed, the refinery would become one of the largest industrial projects ever undertaken in East Africa and could significantly reduce the region’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
The planned facility would dwarf Uganda’s ongoing $4 billion refinery partnership with UAE-based Alpha MBM Investments in Kabaale, Hoima District, which is expected to process 60,000 barrels per day when operations begin between late 2029 and early 2030.
At present, East and Central Africa operate only one refinery, far behind other African regions. South Africa has seven refineries, North Africa has 21, while West Africa operates 14.
Although the proposed Kenyan refinery would still fall short of Dangote’s Lagos refinery — currently processing 650,000 barrels daily and expanding toward 1.4 million barrels per day — analysts believe it would play a major role in solving East Africa’s growing energy demands.
The latest development also appears to shift focus away from an earlier regional refinery proposal in Tanga, Tanzania.
Dangote had previously pledged support for a refinery project in Tanzania that would process crude oil from countries including Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kenyan President, William Ruto, confirmed discussions around the regional project during the Africa We Build Summit held in Nairobi in April.
“That refinery will process oil from the DRC, Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda. We will then build a pipeline from Tanga to Mombasa, allowing finished products to move through infrastructure we jointly own with Uganda,” Ruto said at the time.
However, Tanzanian President, Samia Suluhu Hassan later disclosed that she had not been informed before the announcement was made public.
Dangote, however, suggested that the final direction of the project now rests largely with the Kenyan government.
“The ball is in the hands of President Ruto,” he said. “Whatever President Ruto says is what I’ll do.”
The refinery plan aligns with Dangote’s wider ambition to grow his conglomerate into a $100 billion business empire by 2030, while also expanding refining operations across Africa.
