Dangote Speaks on New Refinery Project, Capacity Bigger than Lagos Plant

• Aliko Dangote revealed plans for the Lamu Refinery in Kenya during Kenyan President William Ruto’s visit to the Lagos facility
• The planned Kenya refinery would have a larger processing capacity than the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos and include heavier equipment
• President Ruto confirmed a groundbreaking date for the Lamu Refinery project and said his government had already secured the land

Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.

Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive officer of Dangote Group, has said the company’s planned refinery in Kenya will surpass its Lagos facility in both size and processing capability.

Dangote made the disclosure while hosting Kenyan President William Ruto on a tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.

He told the visiting president that the Lamu Refinery would be larger in several respects than what Ruto was seeing during the visit.

Dangote said:

“Here I will give you a sense of an idea of what we’re going to have in Kenya just that Kenya will be a little bit bigger than what you are going to see, Your Excellency, today,”

Lamu Refinery capacity and features

The proposed Lamu Refinery is designed to process up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, exceeding the 650,000 barrels-per-day capacity of the Lagos plant, The Guardian reports.

Dangote said the Kenyan facility would also include heavier processing equipment and a coker, a unit that converts heavier petroleum residues into lighter, higher-value products.

On power generation, Dangote said the refinery would produce about 1,000 megawatts of electricity, with roughly 500 megawatts available for sale to Kenya’s national grid.

He described the power component as part of the broader infrastructure that would support the refinery’s operations.

Ruto confirms September 30 groundbreaking

President Ruto confirmed that the groundbreaking ceremony for the Lamu Refinery is scheduled for September 30, 2026.

He said his government had already secured the land needed for the project and was working to meet the remaining conditions required before construction begins.

Ruto said the refinery would drive Kenya’s industrial growth and open up opportunities in engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering and business, among other fields.

The Lamu project marks an expansion of Dangote Group’s footprint into East Africa, building on its refinery operations in Lagos.

Dangote offers Nigerians chance to own shares in refinery

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Industries Limited, said on Monday that domestic workers, traders, drivers, cooks, and managers will all be eligible to buy shares in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals when it launches its Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Dangote announced the IPO's registration-document signing ceremony in Lagos, calling the offer an "IPO for the people" designed to give ordinary Nigerians and other Africans a direct stake in Africa's largest oil refinery.

The offer price is set at N525 per share. An investor with N500,000 can purchase 952 shares, spending N499,800.