Kenya to invest in Uganda's Ksh.500 billion oil refinery

President William Ruto has announced that Kenya will invest in Uganda’s oil refinery, in a move that could see the region deepen collaboration in its energy sector.

According to President Ruto, Kenya will take a strategic stake in the planned refinery estimated to cost over half a trillion shillings.

The announcement was made on Thursday during the Africa We Build Summit 2026, happening in Nairobi.

The summit brings together Heads of State, government officials, private sector leaders, and development partners to explore practical ways of moving Africa’s infrastructure agenda from planning to full-scale implementation.

The announcement comes on the back of Uganda's efforts to acquire a control stake in the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) in the recently concluded privatisation following the government’s divestiture.

According to President Ruto, Africa produces approximately 10 million barrels of oil per day, an equivalent of 10% of global output, yet, the continent remains a net importer of petroleum products.

He noted that the East African nations are discussing the development of a common oil refinery.

“President Museveni called me and said ‘I want to buy 50 per cent of Kenyan Pipeline’…and he told me ‘I don’t care the price’… that’s how serious he as President Museveni could see beyond the price. He could see the opportunity…I want to assure you Kenya is going to invest in your refinery,” said Ruto.

Following the commitment by the two Heads of State to undertake the joint projects, businessman Aliko Dangote who owns a private refinery in Nigeria has committed to build a similar one in the region.

“There is nothing we cannot do in Africa that’s why we as a group we have now launched between now and 2030 we are investing 40 billion dollars in various fields…even now I can give commitments to the two presidents that are here, if they support the refinery, we’ll build an identical one we have in Nigeria,” he said.

The debate comes over a decade after Kenya closed its Changamwe refinery in 2013 due to outdated, inefficient, and higher costs of production which made it uncompetitive compared to imported refined products.

Despite the expression of interest by the government in the Ugandan refinery, the National Treasury says a decision on how much will be invested is yet to be made.