Oil, wealth & power: Inside Dangote's Ksh.6 trillion empire

His Ksh.2 trillion refinery planned for Lamu will be among the largest private investments ever undertaken in Kenya and is expected to reshape how the region sources its fuel.

But behind this enormous investment is an unusually understated billionaire whose influence stretches across African industry and into the corridors of political power.

For years, Aliko Dangote built his industrial empire largely from West Africa, dealing in cement, sugar, salt, fertiliser and eventually oil. Now, the globally renowned billionaire industrialist is looking east.

His entry point is Lamu, with a sprawling Ksh.2 trillion refinery projected to process 700,000 barrels of crude every day.

"The most suitable place where we realised we can put up this refinery, where we have enough water, we have depth in terms of the sea, and we have land is Lamu, so that's why we now decided not Mombasa, not Tanga, but Lamu," Dangote said.

Dangote stated that East African economies producing oil will be given priority in supplying crude, with additional volumes sourced internationally, including from the United Arab Emirates.

The crude will arrive through the Port of Lamu and be refined into petrol, diesel, jet fuel, base oils for lubricants and polypropylene for the plastics industry.

These refined products will then feed a regional market that still imports much of the fuel it consumes.

"Oil is here to stay for a very, very long time, because most of what we are wearing is from oil. Thirty per cent of any car is actually plastic and plastic is from oil. So when oil produces 6,800 items, if you get a substitute for jet fuel, for diesel, for gasoline, what about the other 6,700 and something items? How do we get substitutes for them?" Dangote stated. 

Construction of the refinery is expected to take roughly 40 months.

The first heavy machinery has already arrived through the Port of Lamu. Engineers India Limited has been brought in to oversee the development of the refinery, while Honeywell, which also worked on Dangote's refinery in Nigeria, will supply key technology and equipment.

By drawing on designs already used in Nigeria, the company says construction in Lamu will move faster.

The government has also said land for the project is available.

"As Settlement Fund, tulipeana tukiamrishwa na Rais, tukaona tuko na ardhi elfu saba, hapo hapo refinery, kwa hivyo ardhi ya kazi kule Lamu iko," Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome said.

At full operation, the Lamu refinery could generate as much as USD30 billion (Ksh.3.9 trillion) in revenue every year.

"At the height of the project, we will need over 60,000 people working there," Dangote said.

Behind the colossal undertaking is a strikingly understated man.

For a man worth an estimated Ksh.6.6 trillion (USD51 billion), Dangote has maintained a relatively low-profile public image despite the wealth and influence he has amassed over nearly five decades in business.

"I came to this world with nothing and I will leave with nothing, so the only thing I am going to do is leave a legacy behind," Dangote said.

Dangote's reach extends into some of Africa's most powerful business and political circles, placing him at the intersection of industry and political power.

In Kenya, his relationship with President William Ruto has coincided with his return to the country, this time with a Ksh.2 trillion investment bet on Lamu.