Kenya considers Turkana-Lamu pipeline to supply Dangote refinery

The head of state also set September 30 as the date for the commencement of construction of the Lamu refinery. The facility is designed to process approximately 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is intended to serve the Kenyan market as well as other countries in East Africa.

The connection to Turkana aims to address one of the main challenges of the project, the access to a regular supply of crude oil. The reserves in the South Lokichar basin still need to be linked to infrastructure capable of transporting oil to the coast on a large scale.

The proposed corridor is not entirely new. In May, the Kenyan Treasury indicated that the Lokichar-Lamu pipeline project, approximately 890 kilometers long, remained part of the country’s plans and that land acquisition in six counties had been completed during the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

The new element is the potential involvement of Dangote in this infrastructure. At this stage, authorities have not announced any signed construction contracts, finalized funding, or specific timelines for the pipeline. Therefore, the discussions remain separate from the refinery project, which already has a set launch date.

William Ruto stated that September 30 will bring together Aliko Dangote and several heads of state from the region in Lamu for the refinery’s launch. The oil project is expected to be part of the special economic zone of the LAPSSET corridor.