KEY POINTS
- Kenya plans a 700,000-bpd refinery in Lamu.
- The project is estimated at about $17bn.
- Ruto says it will boost jobs and regional energy security.
Kenya is preparing to break ground on a proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lamu, a multibillion-dollar project being developed with Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote.
Kenyan President William Ruto announced the development after meeting Dangote, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries, and Samaila Zubairu, Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Finance Corporation, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The meeting focused on financing arrangements and the final preparations required to move the East Africa Refinery project from planning to construction.
Ruto said the refinery would play a significant role in strengthening energy security, expanding industrial activity and creating jobs across the region.
The proposed refinery is estimated to cost about Sh2.2tn, equivalent to approximately $17bn, and will have a planned processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The scale of the project would make the facility a major addition to East Africa’s energy infrastructure and is expected to provide refined petroleum products to Kenya and other markets in the region.
The Lamu project is also expected to support Kenya’s broader development plans for the coastal area, which the government wants to establish as an energy, industrial and logistics hub.
Ruto said the refinery would strengthen East Africa’s ability to meet its energy needs while increasing local value addition and supporting economic development.
He said the project would create jobs, deepen regional supply chains and open up new economic opportunities.
The Kenyan president also described the refinery as part of efforts to position East Africa as a competitive energy and industrial hub.
Ruto said his administration was focused on moving the project beyond the planning stage and ensuring that it delivers measurable economic benefits to communities and businesses in the region.
Dangote partnership
Dangote’s involvement places one of Africa’s largest private industrial groups at the centre of the proposed Kenyan refinery.
The project would add to Dangote’s growing presence in Africa’s energy sector following the development of the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.
The Nigerian refinery has become a major component of Nigeria’s strategy to increase domestic refining and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.
The proposed Kenyan facility would extend Dangote’s refining interests into East Africa and could provide another major source of refined products for regional markets once completed. The choice of Lamu is also significant to Kenya’s wider infrastructure plans.
The government intends to develop the coastal area into a major centre for energy, logistics and industrial activity, with the refinery expected to support that strategy.
Once operational, the facility is expected to serve markets across East and Central Africa, potentially strengthening regional petroleum supply chains and reducing reliance on refined fuel imports from outside the region.
The project’s progress will depend on the completion of financing arrangements, construction preparations and other steps required before groundbreaking.
Ruto’s latest announcement indicates that the Kenyan government and its partners are now seeking to move the refinery into the implementation phase.
