>Dangote Refinery Sets Sights on East Africa, Picks Lamu, Kenya for $1.7bn Mega Project

Lamu, Kenya will be the home of the largest oil refinery in East Africa, a massive $1.7 billion project proposed by Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote. This is following years of deliberations over the location of the refinery with Tanzania and Kenya.

The massive refinery is expected to produce 700,000 barrels per day, a scale similar to Dangote's sprawling refinery in Nigeria. Construction is expected to be completed within 30 months, making it East Africa's largest economy the hub of oil refining.

According to Edwin Devakumar, Vice President in charge of oil and gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Lamu was chosen after careful consideration of technical and commercial factors, including a visit by President Samia Suluhu Hassan during which they discussed the project's commercial viability.

The refinery is expected to be a game-changer for Kenya and East Africa at large. Once operational, it is expected to supply oil to countries in the region, providing a much-needed alternative to expensive imports. Dangote's experience in building massive infrastructure projects in Africa has also left many impressed.

Dangote's 650,000-bpd refinery in Nigeria came online last year and is currently the largest on the continent. He plans to expand its capacity to 1.4 million bpd by 2028, which would make it the largest in the world, dwarfing the U.S.'s largest refinery, the ExxonMobil Baytown Refinery in Texas.

The Lamu refinery is expected to be a key factor in East Africa's economic growth as it would boost the region's oil refining capacity and reduce reliance on imports. The project's economic impact is expected to be significant, creating thousands of jobs and contributing to the local economy.

The $1.7 billion project is expected to be financed through a combination of international loans and equity, the exact breakdown of which has not been disclosed.

Dangote has previously said that he was considering the Kenyan city of Mombasa as the location for the refinery before settling on Lamu. He has also invited Tanzania to participate in the project, further solidifying the partnership between the two East African countries.

Dangote's foray into East Africa marks a significant expansion of his business empire, which spans several sectors including cement, sugar, and agriculture. His investments in infrastructure and energy projects across Africa have transformed the continent's economic landscape.

In related news, the Dangote Refinery announced in June that it had sold 12 cargoes totaling 456,000 tonnes to countries including the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ghana, and Togo.