Dangote Industries Limited has begun preliminary work on its proposed $17 billion refinery in Kenya, marking a significant milestone in the company’s expansion across Africa’s energy sector.

The project, located on Lamu Island along Kenya’s coast, is expected to become East Africa’s largest refinery when completed.

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The 700,000-barrels-per-day refinery has progressed beyond the planning stage, with site selection completed, soil investigations under way and engineering and design activities already in progress ahead of full-scale construction.

According to Reuters, the refinery is expected to be completed within about three years and will supply refined petroleum products to Kenya and neighbouring countries, reducing East Africa’s dependence on imported fuel.

The project also represents Dangote Industries’ largest refining investment outside Nigeria and builds on the success of the 650,000-barrels-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, which commenced commercial operations in 2024.

Bloomberg reported that President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, had pledged to establish a refinery in East Africa during discussions with the Presidents of Kenya and Uganda.

Kenyan President William Ruto had earlier announced that construction would begin this year.

Dangote Industries Vice President for Oil and Gas, Devakumar Edwin, confirmed that substantial progress had already been made on the development.

“The site has been selected, soil tests are underway, and design and engineering work has commenced. Kenya was the choice from the beginning,” Edwin told Reuters.

According to Bloomberg, Lamu was selected for both commercial and technical reasons after Tanzania had initially been considered as a potential location. The company has not disclosed additional details on the selection process.

The refinery is expected to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, mirroring the capacity of the Lagos refinery.

Edwin said the project would be financed through a combination of internally generated funds, bond issuances and proceeds from the company’s planned initial public offering.

Although he declined to confirm the final investment value, he said the overall cost would be comparable to the Lagos refinery, which exceeded $20 billion before it became operational.

The project reflects Dangote Industries’ broader strategy to strengthen refining capacity across the continent.

The company is simultaneously expanding the Lagos refinery to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028, which would make it one of the world’s largest refining complexes.

Speaking during a recent visit by officials from the Republic of the Congo’s national oil company, Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo, Edwin said the group’s combined refining capacity would eventually reach 2.1 million barrels per day, with 1.4 million barrels in Nigeria and 700,000 barrels in Kenya.

He also revealed plans to invest an additional $46 billion between 2026 and 2028 across the group’s refining, cement and fertiliser businesses as part of its long-term industrial expansion across Africa.

The Kenyan refinery comes at a time when African governments are placing greater emphasis on domestic refining to improve energy security and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.

Although the continent produces a significant share of the world’s crude oil, limited refining infrastructure has forced many countries to export crude while importing refined fuel at higher costs.

Industry analysts believe the success of the Dangote refinery in Nigeria has renewed confidence in large-scale refining investments across Africa.

The proposed Kenyan facility is expected to strengthen regional fuel supply, support industrial growth and deepen trade in refined petroleum products across East Africa.

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Once completed, the refinery is expected to play a transformative role in the region’s energy landscape by improving fuel availability, reducing import costs and supporting long-term economic development.