By: Birr metrics

Ethiopia is sharpening its push to turn Djibouti into a key outlet for future energy exports, as Dangote Group expands its industrial footprint in the country and moves deeper into gas-linked infrastructure development across the Horn of Africa.

Brook Taye (PhD), chief executive of Ethiopian Investment Holdings, led a delegation to the Presidential Palace in Djibouti, where he was received by Ismail Omar Guelleh, Djibouti’s long-serving head of state, for talks on a two-phase pipeline scheme intended to move Ethiopia’s emerging oil and gas output from the Somali region to international markets via Djibouti’s port and transport corridor.

The discussions come at a time when Ethiopia and Dangote Group are already tied to one of the region’s largest industrial energy developments in the Somali region, where the conglomerate is building a fertiliser-led gas industrial complex anchored on resources from the Ogaden Basin.

The project, developed with Ethiopia’s investment arm, has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industrial platform, with investment estimates recently rising to more than 4 billion US dollars as supporting infrastructure and energy systems are expanded alongside core production capacity.

At its centre is a large-scale urea fertiliser plant targeting annual output of about 3 million tonnes, supplied by natural gas from Ethiopia’s Calub fields through dedicated pipeline infrastructure stretching over 100 kilometres, placing energy transport at the heart of the project’s design.

Beyond fertiliser production, the project now includes a broader industrial build-out: a gas pipeline system, a 120-megawatt power facility, and downstream processing units.

A long-term gas supply arrangement, valued at more than 4 billion US dollars and involving China’s GCL Group, is also in place to secure feedstock for the project, tying Ethiopia’s domestic gas resources into international financing and supply chains.

It is against this backdrop that the Djibouti discussions have gained momentum. Brook (PhD) conveyed Ethiopia’s readiness, alongside Dangote Group, to extend cooperation into cross-border energy infrastructure that links domestic production, regional logistics and export routes.

The proposed framework is structured in two phases. The first phase would establish a pipeline transporting refined petroleum products from Djibouti’s port to Daweleh in eastern Ethiopia, aimed at easing fuel distribution constraints in the inland market.

The second phase envisions a more complex export architecture, including gas and crude oil pipelines from Ethiopia’s Somali region fields through Djibouti, positioning the country as a transit corridor for future hydrocarbon exports.

For Dangote Group, the discussions signal a gradual widening of its Ethiopia strategy, moving from fertiliser-centric investment toward a vertically integrated presence spanning gas utilisation, industrial production and potentially regional energy logistics.

Ismail Omar Guelleh responded positively to the proposal and outlined a framework for implementation of the strategic partnership, according to officials familiar with the talks.

Brook (PhD) was accompanied by Dangote Group advisers Peter Lazam and Singh Rana. Ethiopia’s ambassador to Djibouti, Legesse Tulu, also attended the meeting, alongside Djiboutian officials including Energy Minister Djama Mohamed Hassan.