Nigerian billionaire eyes US investors ahead of groundbreaking for $16B Kenya refinery

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Nigerian billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote said on Tuesday that American investors would participate in a planned $16 billion East African oil refinery, while insisting that the project remain African-led.

Dangote was speaking in Kenya ahead of Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the refinery in the coastal city of Lamu. The facility is expected to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

American investors “will definitely come,” Dangote told journalists, pointing to U.S. backing for his previous projects.

He cited a proposed refinery in Brownsville, Texas, tied to what U.S. President Donald Trump called a $300 billion energy deal, as evidence of continued interest in the oil industry. The figure covers a long-term supply and product-distribution arrangement rather than solely the refinery’s construction cost.

He said three East African countries — Kenya and two others he declined to identify — would acquire a combined 30% stake in the Lamu refinery, which is expected to create 60,000 jobs.

The facility is expected to process crude from Uganda and other African producers that currently export their oil. Kenya does not produce oil commercially but plans to resume exploration in the country’s north in December.

Dangote cautioned against allowing Africans to lose control of major projects. He cited the public offering of shares in his Nigerian refinery, which he said was intended to give ordinary people an opportunity to own part of the business.

The Lamu project comes as Dangote Group plans to invest nearly $50 billion across Africa by 2030 under a strategy intended to put Africans at the forefront of the continent’s development.

Dangote said Africa needed foreign capital but argued that Africans must invest first, develop the continent’s resources and demonstrate the opportunities available to international partners.

He also called for greater use of technology to raise productivity while protecting employment, saying: “AI is not going to displace people.”

He said Africa must process more of its raw materials domestically and retain the resulting jobs and economic value, particularly as younger generations demand greater benefits from the continent’s natural resources.

The refinery is already facing local obstacles. A court this week ordered that the “status quo” be maintained at the site pending resolution of a lawsuit filed by residents claiming ownership of the land.

Dangote told investors that the groundbreaking ceremony would proceed and that his company was “ready” to respond to legal challenges.