Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is set to break ground on a $16 billion mega-refinery in Kenya, a project he says will help strengthen Africa’s ability to meet its fuel needs locally and reduce dependence on imports.
The refinery is being developed on the Indian Ocean coast in Lamu, where Kenya is also expanding a major port. With a planned capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, the facility would be larger than any refinery currently operating in Europe and would become one of the biggest industrial projects on the continent.
The project has, however, faced legal and environmental challenges. A local community filed a lawsuit over land rights, while environmental groups, including Greenpeace, have raised concerns about the refinery’s potential impact. A court ruling published on Monday allowed the ground-breaking to proceed, although the legal case will continue.
Dangote said the challenges would not stop the project and explained that Lamu was chosen over other locations, including Tanzania and the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. He cited the area’s cleaner water, solid land and deep-sea location as some of the reasons for the choice.
The refinery is also expected to include a 1,000-megawatt power facility, with half of the electricity generated planned for supply to Kenya’s national grid. Dangote said the combination of fuel production and power generation would contribute to Kenya’s energy needs and wider economic development.
Dangote described the refinery as part of a broader effort to reduce Africa’s reliance on imported petroleum products and foreign technical expertise. He said he expected most African countries to become self-sufficient in fuel by 2030, arguing that refining capacity should increasingly be developed within Africa.
Questions have also been raised about where the refinery will obtain the crude oil needed for its operations, given that several East African countries are only beginning to develop significant oil reserves. Dangote said the facility would source crude from different markets, including the Middle East and the United States, while preparing to process crude from countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique as their production increases.
He said Africa’s growing population and economies would create substantial demand for petroleum products, meaning the 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery would still represent only a portion of the continent’s future needs. Dangote described the project as a major investment for the region but also a starting point in efforts to expand Africa’s refining capacity.
SOURCE: VANGUARD
