Ruto calls Dangote refinery a model for African cooperation

Kenyan President William Ruto has described the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals facility in Lagos as an example of cooperation between African governments, investors and financial institutions. Ruto made the comments after touring the refinery in Lekki on Friday. In a post on X, he said the facility had a crude-oil refining capacity of 700,000 barrels a day and produced more than 100 million litres of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel daily.

He also highlighted the company’s construction of 120 kilometres of sea cables to transport crude from ships to the refinery. Ruto said the project demonstrated what could be achieved through collaboration across the continent. The Kenyan president said construction of a refinery in Kenya would be launched the following week.

He said that project would be larger and create 60,000 jobs, while improving fuel reliability and security and supporting industrialisation in Kenya and the wider region. Ruto added that related industries could emerge once the Kenyan refinery was completed, including fertiliser, chemical and packaging production. The source material did not provide a projected refining capacity for that facility.

The Dangote refinery is located in the Lekki Free Trade Zone. It was inaugurated in May 2023 after nearly a decade of construction and an investment of approximately $20 billion, according to the report. The facility reached full processing capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day in February 2026, becoming, according to the source, the world’s largest single-train refinery and Africa’s largest refining complex.

Earlier in September, the company offered 4.1 billion ordinary shares at ₦525 each in an initial public offering. The offer seeks to raise about ₦2.2 trillion, with the minimum subscription set at 10 shares, costing ₦5,250.