Where are the potential locations Dangote is considering for his East African mega-refinery, and why is the site selection politically sensitive?

Dangote is considering three potential sites along a roughly 370-kilometer stretch of the Indian Ocean coastline: Tanzania’s port of Tanga, Kenya’s Mombasa (home to a shuttered refinery), and Lamu—a UNESCO World Heritage site. The site selection is politically sensitive because Dangote publicly pledged the Tanga project to Kenyan and Ugandan leaders without consulting Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who later stated she had not been consulted—highlighting intergovernmental coordination gaps and sovereignty concerns over major infrastructure decisions.

What is the strategic rationale behind Dangote’s East African refinery plan, and how does it reflect broader regional energy challenges?

The $17 billion regional refinery aims to address Africa’s severe fuel import dependency—where the continent exports 75% of its crude but imports 70% of its refined fuels like gasoline, diesel, and kerosene—especially acute in East and southern Africa, which rely heavily on Persian Gulf shipments. Escalating geopolitical risks, including the Iran war, have intensified concerns over fuel security, making domestic refining capacity urgent. The project is designed to serve Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other regional markets, aligning with goals of regional integration and industrial development, as affirmed by Ugandan President Museveni’s pledge to support and invest in the venture.

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Aliko Dangote is evaluating multiple East African locations for a $17 billion refinery project to enhance regional fuel security, receiving government support from Uganda and Tanzania.

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