NAIROBI, Kenya — Ending months of intense regional speculation, the corporate group led by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote officially confirmed on Tuesday that its highly anticipated mega oil refinery will be built in Kenya. The massive 700,000-barrel-per-day facility is slated for construction on Lamu, a coastal island, marking a transformative energy milestone for East Africa’s largest economy.
According to a senior company official, the new East African project is expected to closely mirror the scale and operational capacity of Dangote’s sprawling petroleum complex in Nigeria. The construction of the state-of-the-art facility is projected to take approximately 30 months to complete.
The announcement puts a definitive lid on a highly contested search for the project’s host nation. Initially, neighboring Tanzania was heavily considered as a prime location for the refinery. In fact, Aliko Dangote—widely recognized as Africa’s richest man—visited Tanzania late last month to hold bilateral talks with President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
During those discussions, Dangote reportedly outlined the specific commercial and technical considerations that ultimately led to the selection of Kenya over other regional contenders. Despite the site being awarded to Kenya, the industrialist extended an open invitation to Tanzania to participate in the Lamu investment, fostering cross-border economic cooperation.
Energy analysts view the new project as a potential game-changer for the broader region. East Africa currently remains heavily dependent on imported refined fuel products, a vulnerability that persists despite the area holding significant domestic crude oil reserves. By establishing robust local refining capabilities, the Lamu project aims to drastically reduce the region’s reliance on foreign energy imports and stabilize local fuel markets.