Nairobi and Kigali signed three agreements to expand landlocked Rwanda’s access to petroleum imports.
They come as African nations attempt to boost energy security and diversify supplies while a fuel crisis bites across the continent. Rwanda imports all its petroleum products overland through two ports, one in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and the other in Mombasa, Kenya. The new deals mean more of Rwanda’s fuel will pass through the Mombasa route.
Energy importers across Africa have been hard hit by the Iran war and the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of Africa’s fuel passed before the conflict. The crisis has spurred efforts to make the continent less dependent on energy imports: Nigeria’s Dangote Group said it was looking to expand its oil refining capacity in the coming years and open another refinery in East Africa.