LAGOS, Oct 22 – Dangote Industries plans to develop a cross-border petroleum distribution network spanning East, Central and Southern Africa, combining pipeline investments, storage facilities and strategic supply routes to connect its refining capacity with markets reliant on imported fuel.
The expansion was outlined by Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive of Dangote Industries Limited, in a statement issued by the group on Wednesday. Speaking in a conversation with Financial Times journalist David Pilling, Dangote said the company had acquired a 25% stake in a petroleum products pipeline network in Kenya and was pursuing additional projects in Ethiopia, Cameroon and Namibia.
The strategy is intended to address fuel supply constraints and logistical bottlenecks while establishing more integrated distribution links between African refining centres and regional markets.
“We are very aggressive with that,” Dangote said when discussing plans to develop depots, pipelines and other petroleum distribution infrastructure.
“Just let me tell you, yesterday, with the support from the President of Kenya, we bought 25 per cent of the pipeline network for the distribution of petroleum products,” he said.
The planned network would extend the commercial reach of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos beyond Nigeria, potentially connecting production capacity in West Africa with consumers and industrial users across several regions of the continent.
Dangote Outlines Regional Fuel Distribution Corridors
In East Africa, Dangote described plans for a petroleum distribution corridor linking Djibouti with Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, supported by tank farms for storing and moving refined products.
The group is also pursuing a project in Cameroon that Dangote said was approaching completion. Namibia, meanwhile, has been identified as a strategic location for expanding distribution into Southern Africa.
Dangote said the maritime route between Lagos and Namibia would facilitate the movement of refined products from the Nigerian refinery to southern African markets.
“From our refinery to Namibia is just about four days of steaming,” he said.
Under the proposed arrangement, Namibia would serve as a distribution point for supplies destined for markets including Botswana and South Africa. Another planned corridor through Zimbabwe and Zambia would extend the network into additional regional markets.
The projects reflect an effort to combine refining capacity with downstream infrastructure, addressing the transportation and storage constraints that can affect the availability and cost of petroleum products across African markets.
Proposed 700,000-Barrel Refinery in Kenya
Alongside its distribution plans, Dangote intends to develop a refinery in Lamu, Kenya, with a proposed processing capacity of approximately 700,000 barrels per day.
He said the investment would respond to East Africa’s industrial and mining activity, rising energy requirements and difficulties accessing diesel and other petroleum products.
The proposed facility would source crude oil from multiple markets rather than rely exclusively on supplies from Uganda or Kenya, according to Dangote.
Lamu was selected following technical assessments of several potential locations. Dangote identified deep-water access, marine infrastructure and adequate water resources as important considerations in the site selection process.
He said the investment decision was reached within four months. He also alleged that commercial interests had attempted to obstruct the project through legal proceedings shortly before its public unveiling.
The refinery proposal would represent a major expansion of the group’s refining ambitions beyond Nigeria. Its development, however, will depend on the project’s execution, financing, crude supply arrangements and supporting infrastructure.
$50 Billion Investment Programme Through 2030
Dangote also disclosed that the group had budgeted approximately $50 billion for investments between 2026 and 2030. The programme forms part of a wider effort to expand industrial capacity and demonstrate the feasibility of executing large-scale projects within Africa.
Beyond petroleum, he called on African governments to protect domestic industries against unfair foreign competition, arguing that import dependence could weaken local manufacturing and limit employment creation.
“If America is now saying, no, we are going to protect our industries, who are we in Africa not to protect our own industries?” he asked.
Dangote warned that allowing imported goods to displace locally manufactured products risked “exporting our jobs out of the continent, importing poverty into the continent.”
His comments place industrial policy and local production at the centre of the group’s investment agenda, with energy infrastructure viewed as an important foundation for broader manufacturing growth.
Electricity Access Remains an Industrialisation Challenge
Dangote identified unreliable electricity supply as a major constraint on African industrial development, particularly in mining and mineral processing.
Insufficient power can prevent resource-rich countries from processing minerals domestically, leaving them more dependent on exporting raw materials rather than developing higher-value industries.
He said approximately 650 million Africans lacked access to electricity, arguing that expanding supply would create opportunities for manufacturing, employment and economic diversification.
The proposed petroleum distribution network and Kenyan refinery form part of the group’s wider industrial ambitions, linking energy supply with regional trade and production. Their potential impact will depend on whether the planned projects translate into operational infrastructure and reliable fuel supplies across the targeted markets.
For African economies, the strategy highlights the importance of transport links, storage capacity and dependable energy supplies in supporting industrial growth and reducing dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
