East African Community (EAC) member states are currently discussing a joint project to build a massive petroleum refinery. This facility would mirror the scale of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Nigeria, which is owned by businessman Aliko Dangote. Kenyan President William Ruto announced this initiative on April 23, 2026, during an infrastructure summit in Nairobi.
He suggested that the refinery could be built at the port of Tanga in Tanzania to serve the entire region. This proposal comes as petroleum prices continue to rise globally, partly due to the recent closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Because this route carries over 20% of the world’s petroleum, East African countries must find local solutions to reduce their dependency on Middle Eastern imports.
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Strategic benefits of the Tanga refinery project
President Ruto emphasized that a central refinery would process crude oil from various regional partners. “We are going to have a joint refinery in Tanga that will help all of us because this refinery will process petroleum products coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, those from Kenya, those from South Sudan, and those from Uganda,” he stated.
Aliko Dangote also attended the Nairobi meeting and expressed interest in replicating his Nigerian success in East Africa. His current refinery processes 650,000 barrels per day, making it the largest single-train refinery in the world. Dangote indicated that if three or four governments agree on the project, construction could finish within the next five years.
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Industrial expansion and regional energy goals
In addition to fuel production, Dangote plans to build 20 fertilizer processing plants across Africa before 2028 to meet agricultural needs. This regional focus aligns with Uganda’s goal to start selling crude petroleum this year.
Uganda has previously explored building its own refinery, having entered talks with Alpha MBM Investments from the United Arab Emirates in 2024. That proposed project aimed to process 60,000 barrels per day. However, a joint EAC refinery in Tanga would offer a much larger capacity and more significant economic integration. Currently, the Dangote refinery in Nigeria processes 62% of that nation’s fuel and exports to several African countries, including Tanzania and Togo.
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