Africa’s richest businessman, Aliko Dangote, has indicated willingness to build a major oil refinery in East Africa, potentially replicating the scale of his flagship facility in Lagos.
According to reports by Vanguard, the move follows ongoing discussions among East African nations exploring the development of a regional refinery to reduce reliance on imported petroleum products.
Speaking at a high-level infrastructure forum, Dangote stated that he is ready to lead the project if governments in the region reach a consensus, pledging that the refinery could be completed within four to five years once agreements are secured.
The proposed refinery is expected to serve multiple countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, leveraging crude oil resources from across the region.
East Africa currently depends heavily on imported refined fuel, making the region vulnerable to:
Global supply disruptions
Price volatility
Foreign exchange pressures
A regional refinery could significantly cut import costs, stabilise fuel supply, and boost energy independence.
Dangote’s proposal builds on the success of his 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery in Lagos, widely regarded as Africa’s largest, which has already begun influencing fuel supply dynamics across the continent.
Beyond refining, he also revealed plans to:
Expand petrochemical production
Establish fertiliser blending plants across Africa
Encourage African investors to participate in refinery ownership
These moves signal a broader strategy to industrialise Africa through large-scale infrastructure projects.
Analysts say the potential East African refinery could:
Strengthen intra-African trade in energy
Reduce dependence on imports from the Middle East
Create jobs and industrial growth
Improve regional economic stability
However, the project will depend heavily on government cooperation, financing agreements, and regulatory alignment across participating countries.
The development highlights a growing trend of African-led industrial investment, with large-scale projects increasingly positioned as solutions to the continent’s long-standing infrastructure gaps.