Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote unveiled plans to build a crude oil refinery in Tanzania that would replicate the output of his giant plant in Lagos to leverage continent-wide calls for greater self-sufficiency after the Iran war exposed Africa’s vulnerabilities.
East Africa’s major economies are net fuel importers, making them vulnerable to global energy shocks, like the one sparked by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Kenya’s President William Ruto announced a plan this week for a joint East African refinery in the Tanzanian port city of Tanga. Crude oil for the refinery will be sourced from DR Congo, Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda, Ruto said. Dangote pledged to take the lead in building the plant.
In Nigeria, Africa’s top crude oil exporter, Dangote’s refinery — the continent’s largest — has become a central player in the domestic energy market since coming on stream in 2024, reducing the country’s decades-old dependence on importing refined fuels. The Dangote Group, which also operates a urea fertilizer production plant alongside the Lagos refinery, plans to diversify into the production of detergents and other chemicals.