Dangote Eyes Africa Petrol Distribution with 25% stake in Kenyan pipeline – THIS

Aliko Dangote has revealed that Dangote Industries Limited has acquired a 25% stake in a petroleum products pipeline network in Kenya as the conglomerate expands its fuel distribution infrastructure across Africa.

Dangote announced the investment during a conversation with Financial Times Africa Editor David Pilling at the Financial Times Africa Summit 2026 in London.

“Let me say that yesterday, with the support of the President of Kenya, we purchased 25% of the pipeline network for the distribution of petroleum products,” he said.

The acquisition is part of a broader strategy to build transportation, storage and distribution infrastructure capable of moving refined petroleum products from the Dangote oil refinery in Lagos to several African markets.

“We are very aggressive in this regard,” Dangote said, describing the group’s plans to develop depots, pipelines and other distribution facilities.

Besides Kenya, Dangote said the group is pursuing oil distribution projects in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Namibia.

In East Africa, the company is developing a proposed distribution corridor connecting Djibouti with Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, supported by tank farms for the storage and transportation of petroleum products.

He said a separate project in Cameroon is nearing completion, while Namibia has emerged as a strategic entry point into southern Africa.

According to Dangote, the journey from Lagos to Namibia takes about four days, providing a potential route for the supply of refined products from the Nigerian refinery to markets further south.

The proposed network would extend distribution to Botswana and South Africa, with another corridor serving Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The expansion could broaden the refinery’s customer base beyond Nigeria and reduce logistical barriers to supplying petroleum products to regional markets. However, Dangote did not disclose the financial value of the Kenyan pipeline acquisition, the capacity of the network or the expected completion dates of the various projects.

The pipeline investment comes alongside Dangote’s proposal to create a refinery in Lamu, Kenya, with an expected capacity of around 700,000 barrels per day.

He said East Africa’s industrial and mining activities, growing energy needs and difficulties accessing diesel and other petroleum products informed the proposed investment.

The refinery would source crude oil from different markets instead of relying solely on supplies from Uganda or Kenya.

Dangote said Lamu was selected after technical assessments of several potential locations, with access to deep water, marine infrastructure and adequate water resources among the key considerations.

He added that the investment decision was made within four months, claiming that commercial interests attempted to frustrate the project through legal proceedings shortly before its planned public presentation.

The proposed refinery would represent a major expansion of Dangote’s refining ambitions beyond Nigeria, although the company did not disclose the project’s final investment cost or construction schedule in comments provided.

Dangote also revealed that the group had earmarked around $50 billion for investments between 2026 and 2030, although he did not provide a breakdown of the proposed spending across its businesses.

He linked the investment drive to a broader ambition to accelerate industrialization and urged African governments to protect domestic producers from unfair foreign competition.

“Exporting our jobs out of the continent, importing poverty into the continent,” he said, warning that too much dependence on imported products could weaken local industries and jobs.

Dangote also identified unreliable electricity supply as a major obstacle to industrial development, particularly in mining and mineral processing, where insufficient power limits countries’ ability to process raw materials locally.

He said around 650 million Africans lack access to electricity, arguing that improved energy supplies would support manufacturing, job creation and economic diversification.

“The legacy we are trying to create is: How do we industrialize our continent?” he asked.

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