Africa's richest man is choosing between Tanzania and Kenya to launch an oil refinery.

Written by Ziad Abdel Fattah:

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, sees Kenya as a likely locationFor the oil refineryIt has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, which it plans to build in East Africa, according to the Financial Times, in an interview with a wealthy individual. AfricaIt is likely to be launched in Mombasa, Kenya, because Mombasa has a much larger and deeper port, in reference to the comparison with the Tanzanian port of Tanga.

East African countries discuss building an oil refinery

This comes after Kenyan President William Ruto stated last month that East African nations are discussing plans to establish a joint oil refinery in Tanzania's Tanga port, modeled after Nigeria's Dangote refinery, which was recently inaugurated by a Nigerian businessman.

In the interview, Dangote compared Kenya’s Mombasa port with Tanzania’s Tanga port, saying, “Kenyans consume more, it’s a bigger economy.” He added, “It’s now up to President Ruto, I will do whatever he says.”.

$17 billion cost

The Financial Times report stated that Dangote estimated the cost of building the refinery would range between $15 billion and $17 billion.

East Africa is vulnerable to supply disruptions due to the Iran war.

East Africa currently imports all of its refined petroleum products, mainly from the Middle East, making the region vulnerable to supply disruptions and price hikes as a result of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Having recently inaugurated an oil refinery in Nigeria, Aliko Dangote said at an infrastructure summit in Nairobi last month that he could replicate the 650,000-barrel-per-day Nigerian refinery in East Africa, provided that the region's governments support the initiative.

Aliko Dangote is a Nigerian billionaire and businessman, known for being Africa's richest man for several consecutive years. He serves as Chairman and CEO of the Dangote Group, one of the largest industrial conglomerates on the African continent.

Dangote's net worth is $31.9 billion

His net worth is estimated at around $31.9 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in February 2026, while Forbes' 2026 list placed him first in Africa for the 15th consecutive time.

His investments are concentrated in vital sectors including cement, where his company has the largest production in Africa, sugar, salt, and fertilizers, as well as the Dangote refinery, which he recently launched in Nigeria at a cost of $20 billion and is the largest in Africa, with plans to increase its production capacity to become the largest in the world.