President William Ruto has revealed that the Kenyan government is actively engaging with African billionaire Aliko Dangote regarding the construction of a major crude oil pipeline connecting the Turkana oil fields to the coastal city of Lamu.
This strategic dialogue forms a crucial component of a broader, multi-trillion-shilling investment plan anchored by the Dangote Group, which centers around the establishment of a massive petroleum refinery within the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) special economic zone.
President Ruto made the announcement during a comprehensive media engagement at the State Lodge in Kisumu. Emphasizing a strategic shift toward exploring and monetizing the country’s subterranean resources, the Head of State noted that the administration is shifting focus from surface-level economic activities to deep-earth mineral wealth.
The proposed crude oil pipeline is intended to serve as a vital logistical corridor, bridging the distance between the commercially discovered oil deposits in Turkana’s South Lokichar basin and the proposed processing hub at the coast. For years, the country’s inland oil reserves have faced delays in full-scale commercialization due to infrastructural and transport bottlenecks. Integrating a dedicated pipeline into the Dangote refinery project offers a viable pathway to unlock these trapped resources.
The high-level discussions precede a scheduled milestone event: the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Lamu refinery, which is set to launch on September 30. President Ruto indicated that several regional heads of state are expected to attend the launch, underlining the project’s multi-national scope and its ambition to serve broader East African petroleum markets.
The planned refinery is projected to achieve a processing capacity of up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day upon completion. In tandem with the petroleum facility, discussions are underway to expand energy security infrastructure through a proposed 1,000-megawatt liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant. This plant is designed to supply stable, heavy-duty electricity to sustain the industrial operations at the LAPSSET corridor.
While the multi-trillion-shilling project promises tens of thousands of jobs and major economic transformation, industry analysts point out that securing sufficient feedstock to sustain a 700,000-barrel-per-day facility will require extensive regional coordination. Economists and energy experts note that matching production capacities across East Africa—including potential contributions from neighboring South Sudan and Uganda—will involve complex diplomatic, financial, and engineering frameworks, especially given alternative regional transport routes.
Despite these logistical challenges, the upcoming September 30 launch signals a major step forward in Kenya’s push for resource value-addition and regional industrial collaboration.
