Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to build a new 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery in East Africa, signalling a major expansion of his refining operations beyond Nigeria as the continent seeks to reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.
Dangote disclosed the plan during a presidential panel session at the Africa We Build Summit in Nairobi, organised by the Africa Finance Corporation. He said his company was prepared to replicate the scale and model of its Lagos-based refinery if governments in the region provided the necessary support.
He urged East African leaders to back the initiative, noting that his group had successfully delivered a refinery of similar capacity in Nigeria and could do the same in the region.
His comments came amid renewed talks involving Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to establish a joint refining hub in the port city of Tanga. The proposed facility is expected to process crude oil from across East and Central Africa, including supplies from Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
Dangote expressed confidence in the feasibility of the project, stating that early-stage discussions were ongoing and that his company was ready to proceed once regional governments aligned behind the initiative.
He also revealed that expansion works had already begun at the Dangote Refinery in Lagos to increase its refining capacity from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day. According to him, the upgrade would make the facility the largest refinery globally when completed.
Dangote said the expansion would significantly strengthen Africa’s refining capacity and reduce exposure to international supply disruptions, citing recent volatility in global petrochemical prices as evidence of the risks associated with heavy import dependence.
He noted that local production of polypropylene in Nigeria had already helped stabilise supply for industries such as cement packaging, flour and grain processing, adding that rapid price increases in global markets underscored the need for stronger domestic capacity.
The industrialist also highlighted improvements in Africa’s financing environment, saying stronger regional financial institutions now exist to support large-scale infrastructure projects—unlike earlier periods when developers depended heavily on international lenders such as the International Finance Corporation for project funding.
He said the proposed East African refinery would deepen regional energy security and open new investment opportunities across the continent’s downstream petroleum sector.
