Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto has described the Dangote Petroleum Refinery as “a masterpiece of science, engineering and art following the tour of the world – class facility in Lagos, while reaffirming Kenya’s commitment to partnering with Dangote Group on proposed $17 billion East African Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex in Lamu.
President Ruto who visited the refinery after attending the United Nations General Assembly ( UNGA), said witnessing the firsthand the scale, sophistication and operational excellence of the 700,000 barrels – per – day Dangote Petroleum Refinery has strengthen his confidence in East African refinery project.
“Coming here and seeing it for myself, I can confirm that I have seen a masterpiece of science, engineering, with art. To my brother Aliko Dangote, congratulations. I always knew that Nigerians to be very brave people and go – getters, but I did not anticipate that it was at this scale,” Ruto said.
The Kenyan leader disclosed that preparations had been concluded for the groundbreaking ceremony of the East African refinery project in Lamu, which is expected to become a strategic regional asset for East Africa.
According to him, the refinery will drive industrialisation, create jobs, strengthen engineering and technological capacity, enhance energy security and promote regional economic integration.
“This is not a Kenyan refinery, it is going to be a regional refinery. We are positioning our continent as emerging growth centre and this project will help accelerate Industrialisation, create jobs, enhance engineering capabilities and strengthen Africa’s economic competitiveness,” he stated bureaucratic bottlenecks to ensure efficient project execution.
“The Government of Kenya is 100 per cent behind this project. We have secured the required land and are working to ensure that we spend our time building rather than navigating administrative delays,” he said.
The President further commended the leadership and commitment of Dangote Group President and Chief Executive, Aliko Dangote, highlighting his deep understanding of the refinery’s technical and operational processes.
“The detail with which Aliko Dangote understands this plant is remarkable. Unless you don’t understand the details, you are unable to make the right decisions. That commitment to excellence is one of the reason behind the success of this project,” he added.
Dangote Group’s Chief Strategy Officer, Aliyu Suleiman, disclosed during the visit that the conglomerate approximately make $17 billion in revenue during the first half of 2026 and is increasing to achieve a record of $36 billion in revenue for the full year, representing over 100 per cent increase of the $18 billion recorded in 2025.
“The revenue of the Group have grown significantly over five years. From $18 billion last year, we are on track to get to $36 billion this year. Our half year revenue is already about $17 billion,” Suleiman said.
He attributed the strong performance to sustained investments across key sectors, including cement, sugar, fertilizer, petroleum refining, upstream oil and gas, and other strategic businesses.
Suleiman noted that Dangote Group’s growth ambitions are anchored on its Vision 2030 strategy, aimed at expanding the company’s industrial footprint across Africa and creating globally competitive businesses on the continent.
“Between 2020 and 2025 the Group executed a capital expenditure programme of approximately $50 billion. Over the next five years, we intend to invest twice that amount as we accelerate our expansion across Africa,” he stated.
Suleiman emphasised that the proposed 700,000 barrels – per – day greenfield refinery and petrochemicals complex in Lamu, estimates at approximately $17 billion will be a cornerstone of the Group’s ambition to build a $100 billion African enterprise.
“The East African refinery in Kenya is going to be a key component of our journey and our dream to get to $100 billion. It is going to be a major contributors,” he said.
He explained that Dangote Group’s expansion plans span a broad range of sectors, including port infrastructure, gas infrastructure, LNG, upstream oil and gas, power generation, mining and other strategic industrial investments across Africa.
As part of preparations for the project, Dangote Group has signed a contract worth more than $450 million with Engineers of India Limited ( EIL) to provide project management consultancy and engineering, procurement and construction management services for Lamu refinery and petrochemicals complex.
The partnership builds on EIL’s experience and involvement in the successful development of it. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos. Once completed, the East African refinery is expected to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, strengthen regional energy security and supporting industrial development across East Africa.
Dangote Group is also progressing plans to expand the processing capacity of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Nigeria from 700,000 barrels per day to approximately 1.4 million barrels per day through adding of new 750,000 barrels per day crude distillation unit.
The expansion is expected to further solidify Nigeria’s position as a leading exporter of refined products and enhance Africa’s energy self – sufficiency.
President Ruto’s visit and Dangote’s Group ambitious growth plans highlighted the increasing impact of Africa led investments in driving the continent’s renaissance. With record revenue growth, robust investment, pipeline, expansion of refinery capacity in Nigeria the planned of East African Oil Refinery in Kenya, Dangote Group is reinforcing its role as key driver of Africa’s economic transformation, energy security, industrial development and regional integration.
