Ethiopia Reported Interested in Stake in Planned Dangote East Africa Refinery

East African governments have been offered a combined 30 percent equity stake in a large oil refinery planned for Kenya, with Ethiopia among the countries reported to have expressed interest, according to The Reporter Ethiopia.

The newspaper, citing comments by Kenyan presidential economic adviser David Ndii at a capital-markets forum in Nairobi, reported that Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda are considering participation. Ndii said Kenya’s proposed 10 percent share would be valued at about $500 million, implying roughly $1.5 billion for the regional government stake.

The proposal remains at the planning and financing stage. No final Ethiopian investment decision, ownership agreement or funding commitment was reported.

Dangote Group’s plan calls for a refinery on Kenya’s Lamu Island with capacity of about 700,000 barrels a day. The facility itself could cost as much as $16 billion, while associated port infrastructure could bring the wider project cost to about $20 billion, according to the report. Groundbreaking is expected in September 2026.

Ndii said the refinery would initially receive crude from Kenya and Uganda and could supply refined fuel to markets including Ethiopia’s wider East African neighborhood. The planned capacity would exceed the region’s estimated current demand, potentially allowing exports to other African markets.

Uganda has not decided whether to participate because it is pursuing separate refining and oil-hub projects, the report said.

For Ethiopia, participation could create exposure to a major regional energy asset, but it would also require a substantial capital commitment. The proposal comes as Dangote pursues a separate fertilizer project in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State, planned to produce three million tonnes of urea annually from 2029.