Kenya's $15B Oil Refinery Hinges on Securing Reliable Crude Supply
Kenya is set to embark on one of its largest industrial investments in history, a 700,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery planned by Aliko Dangote in Lamu.
The project's success hinges on securing a reliable crude supply, which poses a significant challenge given that Kenya currently does not produce commercially viable amounts of crude oil.
Uganda is expected to become an oil producer by the end of 2026, but its fields contain about 1.65 billion barrels of recoverable oil and are expected to peak at around 230,000 barrels per day, far below the refinery's planned capacity.
The refinery will also rely on imports from global suppliers due to the lack of a pipeline from Turkana to Lamu, exposing it to international oil prices, shipping costs, wars, and supply disruptions.