Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote has pledged to lead the construction of a 650,000 barrels per day oil refinery in Tanga, Tanzania, in a project modelled on his USD 20 billion Lagos refinery and intended to serve the wider East African market.
The commitment was made at the inaugural Africa We Build Summit 2026, hosted by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) in Nairobi on 23–24 April 2026.
Dangote made the pledge during a panel session attended by Kenyan President William Ruto and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, conditional on political and policy support from the participating governments.
The proposed facility would be located at the Port of Tanga, in northeastern Tanzania, and would replicate the design and operational standards of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Nigeria, which has a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
According to the plan outlined at the summit, the Tanga refinery would process crude oil sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda.
The project would be supported by a new pipeline linking the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Tanga, and connecting to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), the 1,443-kilometre pipeline from Uganda’s oil fields to the Tanzanian coast.
Dangote indicated a delivery timeline of four to five years from the moment the participating governments reach a binding agreement.
The investment forms part of Dangote’s broader USD 40 billion expansion strategy, which also includes plans to establish around 20 fertiliser blending plants across Africa by 2028 and to scale up polypropylene production.
Speaking at the panel, Aliko Dangote said: “I can give commitment to the two presidents that are here: if they will support the refinery, we’ll build the identical one that we have in Nigeria—650,000 barrels.”
He added: “My commitment is, if we agree here, with the three or four governments, we will lead and make sure that the refinery is built within the next four to five years.”
President William Ruto confirmed that East African states are coordinating to refine oil within the region rather than exporting crude for processing abroad, stating: “We have made the decision that we are going to do this together. We are going to harness the synergies of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Sudan, possibly working together, so that we can have one big refinery here.”
President Yoweri Museveni confirmed that Uganda would supply crude to the proposed Tanga facility and indicated that the EACOP could also serve crude flows from the DRC and South Sudan.
East African Refining Capacity and Fuel Import Dependence
East African economies are currently net importers of refined petroleum products, with some countries in East and Southern Africa sourcing up to three-quarters of their fuel from Gulf-based suppliers, including Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, and Emirates National Oil Company.
The AFC State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2026, released at the same summit, projects that Africa’s fuel import shortfall will reach 86 million tonnes by 2040, equivalent to almost three Dangote-sized refineries.
The region has experienced years of underinvestment in downstream infrastructure, with the closure of refineries in Mombasa, Lusaka, Durban, and Limbe.
Uganda is currently advancing a separate 60,000 barrels per day refinery at the Kabalega Industrial Park in Hoima District, with a final investment decision scheduled for July 2026.
Mozambique is also exploring a 200,000 barrels per day refinery backed by Nigerian investor Benedict Peters.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, which came on stream in 2024, recently reached full capacity and helped Nigeria achieve fuel self-sufficiency.
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