Dangote is planning to break ground on a $16 billion oil refinery in Kenya this October, according to Pumps Africa Magazine. The project would be located in Lamu and is intended to supply the wider East African market.
The Nigerian conglomerate is seeking roughly 1.45 trillion Kenyan shillings in debt financing for the Lamu refinery, Business Daily reports. That figure is separate from the overall project cost cited by Pumps Africa Magazine, which put the investment at $16 billion.
The refinery plan has been adjusted based on lessons learned from Dangote’s earlier refinery experience in Nigeria, according to Business Insider Africa. The publication notes that the Kenya project has become cheaper than an earlier estimate of $17 billion, partly because of those lessons.
The project has drawn some local opposition. The Daily Nation has published commentary arguing that Lamu is too ecologically and culturally valuable to be sacrificed for oil development.
Dangote has said the Kenya refinery is designed to serve a broader East African customer base, not just Kenya’s domestic market, according to the Star.
The October groundbreaking would mark a major step for a project that has been discussed for years. Kenya currently relies on imported refined petroleum products, and a large domestic refinery would change the region’s fuel supply dynamics.
What to watch next: whether Dangote secures the debt financing it is seeking and how local opposition in Lamu affects the construction timeline.
