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Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has announced plans to build a $17 billion oil refinery in Kenya, saying he is leaning towards the port city of Mombasa as the preferred location for the 650,000-barrel-a-day facility.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Dangote said he is considering Kenya over Tanzania after questions arose over a previous push to build the refinery in Tanzania.
“I’m leaning more towards Mombasa because Mombasa has a much larger, deeper port,” Dangote said.
He estimated the project would cost between $15 billion and $17 billion.
Dangote cited Kenya’s larger economy and higher fuel consumption as factors in his decision.
“Kenyans consume more. It’s a bigger economy,” he said.
He added that crude oil for the refinery could be transported by ship and need not be located near a pipeline that will carry oil nearly 1,500 kilometres from Ugandan oilfields to the Tanzanian coast at Tanga.
“The ball is in the hands of President Ruto. Whatever President Ruto says is what I’ll do,” Dangote said.
For the refinery to proceed, Dangote said he would need land from Ruto, some East African financing, and protection from what he called the dumping of cheap fuel from countries such as Russia or India.
“There is no refinery in the world that can survive without that protection,” he said.
“If we have an agreement, we can start this year,” he added.
He told the FT that he could still build the refinery in Tanzania “if they are able to sort themselves out.”
