Kenyan President William Ruto has toured the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, ahead of the planned groundbreaking of the Dangote East African Refinery in Lamu, Kenya.
Ruto visited the Nigerian facility on Friday at the invitation of Dangote Group President and Chief Executive Officer Aliko Dangote, as Kenya prepares to launch construction of the proposed refinery next week.
In remarks following the tour, Ruto described the Nigerian refinery as a major African industrial investment and said the project demonstrated what could be achieved through collaboration between governments, investors and financial institutions.
“The refinery in Nigeria is a massive investment with a crude oil refining capacity of 700,000 barrels a day and produces more than 100 million litres of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel every day,” Ruto said.
“The company has built 120km of sea cables to move crude from ships to the refinery. This huge achievement is a testament of what African governments, investors and financial institutions can do together.”
Ruto said the planned refinery in Lamu would be even larger, positioning it as a major project for Kenya and the wider East African region.
“The refinery whose construction we launch in Kenya next week will be bigger,” he said.
According to the Kenyan president, the project would have a significant impact on the country’s petroleum industry and regional energy security.
“It will transform the petroleum sector in our country and region, providing fuel reliability and security, scaling up industrialisation and creating 60,000 jobs,” Ruto said.
He added that the refinery would generate opportunities for industries beyond fuel production.
“When the refinery is completed, spin off industries will emerge, including the production of fertilisers, chemicals, and packaging.”
The planned Lamu refinery is expected to become East Africa’s largest refinery, with a proposed capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Ruto previously said the facility would serve Kenya as well as regional markets including Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for September 30, according to Kenyan media reports.
Ruto’s visit to Lagos comes as Kenya seeks to use the Lamu project to strengthen domestic fuel security, expand industrial capacity and establish the country as a regional petroleum hub.
The Nigerian Dangote refinery, which has a nameplate capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, has been presented by Ruto as a model for the scale of industrial investment Kenya hopes to replicate in Lamu.
