East Africa's Refining Boom: Dangote's $16 Billion Lamu Project
The East African region is poised for a major shift in its oil refining industry, with several large-scale projects planned or underway in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The most significant development is the $16 billion Dangote refinery at Lamu on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast, which was formally launched on September 30.
The facility, backed by Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote, aims to process up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and create about 60,000 jobs. It is expected to supply fuel to Kenya and other countries in the region. However, this project marks a return to large-scale refining in Kenya after the country's previous refinery, operated by the Kenyan government and foreign investors, stopped refining crude in 2013.
The Lamu refinery is part of a broader effort to reduce East Africa's dependence on imported petroleum products. Uganda has long planned a 60,000 barrel-a-day refinery at Hoima in the country's oil-producing Albertine region, while Tanzania is considering building a separate refinery at Tanga. The proposed facilities differ significantly in scale, with the Lamu refinery having a capacity more than 11 times that of Uganda's planned facility.