Kenyan President, William Samoei Ruto, has reaffirmed Kenya’s support for the proposed East African Oil Refinery in Lamu after describing the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos as a world class industrial achievement.
Ruto made the remarks during a tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery shortly after attending the United Nations General Assembly.
According to him, seeing the 700,000 barrels per day facility firsthand strengthened his confidence in the partnership with Dangote Group for the East African project.
“Coming here and seeing it for myself, I can confirm that I have seen a masterpiece of science, engineering, with art. To my brother Aliko, congratulations. I always knew Nigerians to be very brave people and go getters, but I did not anticipate that it was at this scale,” he said.
The Kenyan leader, in a statement on Sunday by the Dangote Group, disclosed that preparations have been concluded for the groundbreaking of the $17 billion East African Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Complex in Lamu, which he said will serve the entire region.
He noted that the project will drive industrialisation, create jobs, enhance technical capacity, improve energy security and promote regional integration.
“This is not a Kenyan refinery; it is going to be a regional refinery. We are positioning our continent as an emerging growth centre, and this project will help accelerate industrialisation, create jobs, enhance engineering capabilities and strengthen Africa’s economic competitiveness,” he said.
Ruto assured that the Kenyan government has secured the required land and will eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks.
“The Government of Kenya is 100 per cent behind this project. We have secured the required land and are working to ensure that we spend our time building rather than navigating administrative delays,” he added.
He also commended the President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, for his detailed understanding of the refinery operations.
“The detail with which Aliko Dangote understands this plant is remarkable. Unless you understand the details, you are unable to make the right decisions. That commitment to excellence is one of the reasons behind the success of this project,” Ruto stated.
Speaking during the visit, Chief Strategy Officer of Dangote Group, Aliyu Suleiman, said the conglomerate generated about $17 billion in revenue in the first half of 2026 and is on track to achieve $36 billion for the full year, doubling the $18 billion recorded in 2025.
“The revenues of the Group have grown significantly over the last five years. From $18 billion last year, we are on track to get to $36 billion this year. Our half year revenue is already about $17 billion,” Suleiman said.
He attributed the growth to investments in cement, sugar, fertiliser, petroleum refining, upstream oil and gas and other strategic businesses, adding that the Group’s Vision 2030 strategy aims to expand its industrial footprint across Africa.
Suleiman disclosed that between 2020 and 2025, the Group executed about $50 billion in capital expenditure and plans to invest twice that amount in the next five years.
He said the proposed 700,000 barrels per day refinery and petrochemical complex in Lamu will be central to Dangote’s ambition to build a $100 billion African industrial enterprise.
“The East African refinery in Kenya is going to be a key component of our journey and our dream to get to $100 billion. It is going to be a major contributor,” he said.
He added that the Group’s expansion will cover port infrastructure, gas infrastructure, LNG, upstream oil and gas, power generation, mining and other industrial investments.
As part of preparations, Dangote Group has signed a contract worth more than $450 million with Engineers India Limited to provide project management consultancy and engineering, procurement and construction management services for the Lamu refinery.
The partnership builds on the firm’s experience in the development of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.
Once completed, the East African refinery is expected to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Dangote Group is also planning to expand the Lagos refinery from 700,000 barrels per day to about 1.4 million barrels per day through an additional 750,000 barrels per day crude distillation unit, a move expected to strengthen Nigeria’s position as a leading exporter of refined products and enhance Africa’s energy self sufficiency.
