Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has expanded his energy investments in East Africa after acquiring a 25 per cent stake in the Kenya Pipeline Company, which transports petroleum products across the country.
Dangote announced the investment on Wednesday, a day after Kenyan President William Ruto disclosed that private investors had invested in the country’s petroleum pipeline network without identifying them.
The acquisition comes amid an expansion of Dangote’s investments in Africa’s energy sector, following his plans to establish a $16 billion oil refinery in Kenya.
Last month, Dangote laid the foundation stone for the proposed refinery at Lamu Port, with a planned processing capacity of 700,000 barrels per day.
The project is expected to form part of his broader strategy to strengthen Africa’s refining capacity and reduce the continent’s dependence on exporting raw materials for processing elsewhere.
At the foundation-laying ceremony, Dangote said Africa needed to move away from exporting raw materials towards producing and selling finished products.
The Nigerian industrialist already operates a refinery with a similar capacity near Lagos, Nigeria. The facility is a major component of his group’s investments in the oil and gas industry.
Beyond petroleum refining, the Dangote business empire has significant interests in cement, fertilisers, sugar and other sectors across Africa.
The acquisition of the stake in Kenya Pipeline Company further strengthens the group’s presence in the East African energy market and adds pipeline infrastructure to its growing regional investment portfolio.
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