Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has committed to backing the development of a new oil refinery in Tanzania as part of efforts to strengthen the continent’s energy independence.
He reiterated his support for the project, which comes as African leaders seek to cut dependence on fuel imports from the Middle East amid rising geopolitical uncertainty.
The planned facility is expected to be built in the port city of Tanga and linked by pipeline to Mombasa, according to Kenya’s President William Ruto.
Reports indicate that the refinery will process crude from regional suppliers such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, making it a shared energy asset for East Africa, Bloomberg reported.
Dangote stated that his group would spearhead the project, with completion targeted within four to five years. He suggested it could mirror the scale and operational model of his Lagos refinery, which recently achieved full production capacity and has contributed to Nigeria’s fuel self-sufficiency.
With a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, currently the largest single-train refinery in the world, the Nigerian facility is also expected to expand to around 1.4 million barrels per day, reinforcing its role in West Africa’s energy supply chain.
Although Africa produces roughly 7% of global crude oil, refining capacity has declined sharply over the past 20 years, increasing reliance on imported fuel. This dependency has become more problematic following supply chain disruptions linked to tensions in the Persian Gulf, which have exposed weaknesses in import-heavy economies.
Several East African nations remain heavily dependent on fuel imports from the Middle East. Kenya, for example, has recently renewed supply agreements with Gulf energy giants such as Saudi Aramco, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, and the Emirates National Oil Company.
Dangote Refinery strengthens regional supply
Meanwhile, the Dangote Refinery is already reshaping regional fuel dynamics by reducing import dependence. In March alone, it dispatched 12 shipments of refined petroleum products to Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ghana, and Togo, amounting to approximately 456,000 tons.
This increase in exports reflects a shift in Nigeria’s position in the regional market from a net importer to an emerging supplier of petroleum products.
The new Tanzania project is also consistent with Dangote’s wider $40 billion expansion drive and aligns with other regional infrastructure efforts, including the pipeline linking Uganda’s oil fields to Tanzania’s coastline. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has indicated that Uganda will supply crude to the refinery while still pursuing its own domestic refining plans.