Dangote: East African Refinery In Kenya To Be Commissioned In 40 Months

President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has said the proposed $16 billion East African oil refinery in Kenya will be completed and commissioned within 40 months.

Dangote made the commitment on Wednesday while officially flagging off the construction of the refinery, which is expected to become a major energy and industrial hub in East Africa.

Addressing dignitaries at the ceremony, including heads of government and other African leaders, Dangote assured that the project would be completed within the projected timeframe.

“Mr. President and our other respected presidents, my brother Prime Minister Abiy, I want to assure you we will come back here and commission this refinery in 40 months from today,” he said.

ALSO READ: Anybody Who Wants To Cause Trouble, We’re Ready — Dangote On Court Order Halting Kenya Refinery

The refinery is designed to process approximately 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, according to Dangote, placing it among the major refining projects planned for the African continent.

Beyond refining crude oil, the project is expected to generate about 1,000 megawatts of electricity, which Dangote said would be twice the current power generation capacity of Lagos.

“We have 1,000 megawatts that we are going to generate here. We have one million tonnes of polypropylene and we also have a base oil production that will supply,” he said.

Dangote further said the refinery would have the capacity to supply a significant proportion of jet fuel consumed in Europe and the United Kingdom.

He said the project would build on the experience gained from the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, particularly in supplying petroleum products during periods of market disruption.

“We will supply at least 20 per cent of jet fuel consumed by Europe and UK,” Dangote said.

He added that the Nigerian refinery had played an important role in supporting fuel supplies during the recent energy crisis in Europe.

“Like what we did during this crisis, if not because of the refinery, a lot of people wouldn’t have had the chance to go on summer holiday in Europe,” he said.

According to the businessman, the Kenyan project is not simply an investment in refining infrastructure but is intended to establish a broader industrial ecosystem around the energy sector.

“We are not here merely to build tanks, pipelines, processing units and jets. We are here to help build an industrial ecosystem,” he said.

Dangote said the experience of developing the refinery in Nigeria showed that large-scale energy projects could stimulate the growth of related industries and businesses.

He listed energy, petrochemicals, logistics, engineering, marine services, manufacturing, skills development, technology and small and medium-sized enterprises among the sectors expected to benefit from the project.

“This will give birth to an industrial zone, an ecosystem of energy, petrochemicals, logistics, engineering, marine services, manufacturing, skills, technology, small and medium-sized enterprise and thousands of opportunities for people across the value chain,” he said.