Nigeria's Dangote to hold Lamu Oil Refinery Groundbreaking ceremony in September

Dangote Group Chairman Aliko Dangote announced the planned launch while speaking to investors and analysts in Botswana, saying the refinery would be developed in partnership with East African governments.

“We are launching it on September 30,” Dangote said.

The planned refinery on Kenya's coast is expected to take up to three years to complete and will supply refined petroleum products to Kenya and neighbouring countries, helping reduce East Africa's reliance on imported fuels.

The project is expected to become Dangote Group's biggest refining investment outside Nigeria and comes as the company pursues further expansion of its energy business across Africa.

Dangote's announcement came as he also revealed plans to list shares in the group's Nigerian refinery through an initial public offering within the next 10 to 12 days.

The company is seeking to raise about $5 billion through the IPO, which could become Africa's largest public offering.

Dangote also said the group plans to double the capacity of its Nigerian refinery from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day.

The refinery reached its full nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day in February and has since tested production at 700,000 barrels per day.