Dangote's Lamu Oil Refinery Construction Set to Begin September 30

Nigeria's Dangote Group will begin construction of its oil refinery in Lamu, Kenya, on September 30, according to a statement from the company reported by Capital FM. The announcement marks the formal start of one of the most significant energy infrastructure projects planned for East Africa in recent years, extending Dangote's refining ambitions beyond Nigeria, where the group's 650,000-barrel-per-day Lekki refinery has already reshaped West Africa's fuel supply chain since starting operations. The Lamu site sits on Kenya's northern coast, an area the Kenyan government has long sought to develop as a regional logistics and energy hub through the broader Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) corridor initiative, which envisions the port serving as a gateway for oil and goods moving between Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia. A refinery of this scale would give Kenya new domestic refining capacity in a region still heavily dependent on imported refined fuel, and could position Lamu as a processing and export point serving both the Kenyan market and neighboring landlocked states. Dangote Group, led by Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote, has built its refining strategy around consolidating capacity close to crude sources and growing consumer markets, a model it is now testing outside Nigeria for the first time with this Kenyan venture. For Qatar and the wider Gulf, East Africa's expanding energy infrastructure is increasingly relevant: Qatari state and private investors have shown growing interest in African ports, logistics and energy assets as part of a broader push to diversify economic ties beyond traditional Gulf and Asian markets, while Qatari LNG exporters continue to eye African markets as long-term demand destinations. Further details on the refinery's planned capacity, cost and construction timeline beyond the September 30 start date were not disclosed in the available reporting.