Dangote Industries Limited has commenced preliminary development activities for its planned 700,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery in Kenya.
The project, which will be located in Lamu on Kenya’s coast, has progressed beyond the planning stage with site selection completed and engineering preparations already underway.
Company officials confirmed that geotechnical investigations and design work have begun ahead of the project’s construction phase.
Once completed, the refinery is expected to become East Africa’s largest petroleum processing facility, supplying refined products to Kenya and neighbouring countries while reducing the region’s reliance on imported fuels.
The project is designed to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, exceeding the capacity of most refineries on the continent.
Dangote Industries plans to finance the multi-billion-dollar investment through a combination of internally generated funds, bond issuances and proceeds from the planned public listing of its refining business.
Company executives said the financing structure is intended to support construction without relying solely on conventional debt financing.
The proposed refinery represents Dangote’s largest refining investment outside Nigeria and builds on the success of the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, which has transformed Nigeria from a major importer of refined petroleum products into a growing exporter of gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel.
The Kenya project is expected to take approximately three years to complete and will play a strategic role in improving fuel security across East Africa by increasing regional refining capacity and reducing dependence on overseas suppliers.
The decision to establish the refinery in Kenya follows an evaluation of several potential locations across East Africa. Lamu was ultimately selected based on its strategic location, port infrastructure and long-term commercial potential, positioning the facility to serve both domestic and regional energy markets.
The investment further reinforces Dangote Industries’ ambition to become a leading player in Africa’s downstream petroleum sector, leveraging large-scale refining assets to meet rising energy demand across the continent.
Analysts believe the project could reshape fuel supply dynamics in East Africa while strengthening intra-African trade in refined petroleum products.
If completed on schedule, the refinery will rank among the largest privately owned refining facilities globally and further cement Dangote’s position as one of Africa’s most influential industrial investors.
