Ruto To Visit Dangote Refinery Ahead Of Kenya’s $700,000 Bpd Project

Kenyan President William Ruto is expected to visit the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, on Friday ahead of the planned groundbreaking of a proposed 700,000 barrel per day refinery in Lamu, Kenya.

The visit, according to the Dangote Group, is part of preparations for the multibillion dollar Kenyan refinery project, with Dangote Group President, Aliko Dangote, expected to host the Kenyan leader at the Lekki facility.

A senior official of the Dangote Group confirmed that Dangote and Ruto are scheduled to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for the proposed refinery in Lamu on Wednesday, September 30.

The planned facility is expected to expand Kenya’s domestic refining capacity, reduce dependence on imported petroleum products and strengthen petroleum supply across East Africa.

Ruto had earlier announced that Kenya was ready to commence construction of the refinery following discussions with Dangote and the Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Finance Corporation, Samaila Zubairu, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

According to the Kenyan President, the discussions focused on financing arrangements and final preparations for the project.

“We are ready to break ground on the East Africa refinery in Lamu, a transformative project that will enhance the region’s energy security, deepen local value addition, create jobs and advance our industrialisation agenda,” Ruto said.

He added that the project would create new economic opportunities, strengthen regional supply chains and contribute to positioning East Africa as an energy and industrial hub.

The Kenyan refinery is expected to become a major component of the country’s strategy to develop domestic petroleum processing capacity while reducing exposure to international refined fuel imports.

The project also marks an expansion of Dangote’s refining investments beyond Nigeria. The group currently operates the Lekki refinery, which has a stated capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, while plans are underway to increase its capacity.

With the proposed Kenyan facility and the planned expansion of the Lekki refinery, Dangote is targeting a combined refining capacity of about 2.1 million barrels per day.

The Dangote refinery has continued to supply refined petroleum products to the Nigerian market while also exporting products to international destinations, making the Kenyan project the group’s next major refining investment in Africa.