Dangote Group has indicated its readiness to offer East African countries a 30 per cent equity stake in its planned Lamu refinery, which is set to be located on Lamu Island off the coast of Kenya.
According to a Bloomberg report, the USD 16 billion project is structured on a 70/30 debt-to-equity basis, meaning the stake offered to East African nations would amount to approximately USD 1.5 billion.
Kenya has already expressed interest in investing USD 500 million for a 10 per cent share of the equity portion, with Ethiopia and Rwanda expected to take up the remaining 20 per cent.
The Lamu refinery is designed to have a capacity of up to 700,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), matching the scale of Dangote’s flagship refinery in Nigeria, which is currently the largest on the continent. The facility is expected to process 600,000 bopd, primarily sourced from South Sudan, as well as crude from Uganda’s Lake Albert via the EACOP pipeline and Kenya’s yet-to-be-developed Turkana oil fields.
However, the report notes that the input plan behind that capacity remains aspirational. Uganda’s Lake Albert crude has no direct route to Kenya, as the EACOP pipeline terminates at Tanzania’s Tanga port, meaning Ugandan barrels would need to be shipped onward by sea rather than piped directly to Lamu. South Sudan’s contribution depends on infrastructure that has yet to be built, including reviving the long-dormant South Sudan leg of the Lapsset corridor. Additionally, Kenya’s own Turkana fields, projected to supply 120,000 bopd, have yet to produce a single barrel commercially.
Construction on the Lamu refinery is expected to commence in September 2026 and last up to four years, injecting over USD 4 billion in investment annually, according to David Ndii, economic advisor to Kenyan President William Ruto.
The evolving deal builds on Dangote’s recent momentum. In June, Nigeria became the top exporter of jet fuel to Europe, surpassing the United States, thanks to Dangote’s supply of over 466,000 tonnes.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, the subsidiary operating the Nigerian refinery, is expected to go public around October 2026, targeting a USD 5 billion initial public offering (IPO). There is already a commitment of over USD 600 million for the refinery’s private placement, with a further USD 400 million earmarked to support the IPO.