By: Reuters

"We will lead and make sure that that refinery is built within the next four five years."

• Africa's richest man offers to build a joint oil refinery for East African countries in Tanzania
• Nairobi, Kenya / April 23, 2026
• William Ruto, Kenyan President

"We are discussing that we are going to have a joint refinery in Tanga, to benefit all of us because that refinery is going to take on board the oil from DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), the oil from Kenya, the oil from South Sudan, the oil from Uganda, and we will just need to build a short pipeline from Tanga to Mombasa and the finished product, we will use the pipeline that we jointly own with Uganda, so all our assets become profitable."

• Aliko Dangote, Founder, Dangote Group 

"My commitment today here is that if we agree with the three, four governments here about the refinery, we will lead and make sure that that refinery is built within the next four, five years."

East Africa currently imports all of its refined petroleum products, mainly from the Middle East, leaving the region vulnerable to supply disruptions and price spikes as seen in the fallout of the Iran conflict.

Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote, who also attended the conference, said he could replicate his 650,000‑barrel‑per‑day Nigerian refinery in East Africa, provided governments in the region supported the initiative.

Uganda, which hopes to start commercial crude oil production this year, has also said it plans to build a refinery.

In 2024, it announced a deal with United Arab Emirates‑based Alpha MBM Investments to develop a 60,000‑barrel‑per‑day plant.

Dangote also said he planned to establish about 20 fertilizer blending plants across Africa by 2028 to meet most of the continent’s needs.

Asked about the planned listing of his Nigerian refinery, Dangote said African investors should participate.