Kenya to Break Ground on Sh2.2 Trillion Lamu Refinery

President William Ruto announced that Kenya will break ground on the East Africa refinery in Lamu on September 30. The project, developed in partnership with Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote, is estimated to cost Sh2.2 trillion ($17 billion) and is expected to be completed by 2030. The facility will have a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, utilizing crude from Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan.

During meetings at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Ruto met with Dangote and Africa Finance Corporation CEO Samaila Zubairu to finalize financing and preparations. To support the project, Engineers India Limited signed a contract worth over $450 million to serve as the project management and EPCM consultant. Aliko Dangote also plans to develop a 4,000-kilometer pipeline network connecting Lamu to Ethiopia and Djibouti.

Parallel to these developments, the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya issued a warning on September 21 cautioning investors against fraudulent schemes offering shares in the separate Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Nigeria. The regulator stated that the Nigerian refinery's initial public offering, which seeks to raise up to 2.15 trillion naira, has not received regulatory approval for solicitation within Kenya. The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission issued a similar warning against fraudulent pre-IPO promotions.