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Kenyan President William Ruto is expected at the Dangote refinery in Lagos ahead of Wednesday’s groundbreaking for the planned 700,000-barrel-per-day Lamu refinery.
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The Kenya project, estimated at $17bn, is expected to supply petroleum products across East and Central Africa.
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Dangote is targeting 2.1 million barrels per day of refining capacity through the Lamu project and the planned expansion of its Lagos refinery to 1.4 million barrels per day.
September 25, (THEWILL) – Kenyan President, William Ruto, is expected to visit the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, on Friday ahead of the groundbreaking of the proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day East Africa Oil Refinery in Lamu, Kenya.
The visit was confirmed by Dangote Group, which said its President, Aliko Dangote, would host the Kenyan leader at the Lagos refinery.
The planned Lamu refinery is scheduled for groundbreaking on Wednesday, September 30, with Ruto expected to lead the ceremony. The project has been estimated at $17bn and is being positioned as a major addition to East Africa’s refining and industrial infrastructure.
From Lagos To Lamu
Ruto’s visit comes days after he met Dangote and Samaila Zubairu, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Finance Corporation, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The discussions focused on financing and final preparations for the Lamu project, according to the Kenyan president.
“We are ready to break ground on the East Africa refinery in Lamu, a transformative project that will enhance the region’s energy security, deepen local value addition, create jobs and advance our industrialisation agenda”, Ruto said.
The proposed refinery is expected to process up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and serve Kenya and other markets across East and Central Africa.
The Kenyan government expects the project to strengthen domestic and regional energy security, reduce reliance on imported refined petroleum products and support wider industrial activity around Lamu.
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Dangote Expands Refining Footprint
The Lamu project marks a major expansion of Dangote’s refining interests beyond Nigeria.
The group is targeting combined refining capacity of about 2.1 million barrels per day through the proposed Kenyan refinery and the planned expansion of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos from its current 700,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day.
Dangote has previously said the Kenyan refinery could take about three years to complete. The project is also expected to support Kenya’s emerging crude oil industry, with President Ruto discussing plans for a crude oil pipeline linking oil production in Turkana to Lamu.
The project has attracted financing and technical partners, with Engineers India Limited recently securing a contract worth more than $450m to provide project management and engineering, procurement and construction management services for the refinery and petrochemical complex.
For Dangote, the Lamu development extends the group’s refining strategy from Nigeria into a wider African market, while for Kenya, the project is intended to establish the country as a regional petroleum-processing and industrial hub.
Ogochukwu Onwaeze is a writer specializing in business and economic journalism. At THEWILL News Media, she translates market trends, financial developments, and policy shifts into clear and engaging stories.
