Engineers India to manage engineering and construction planning for proposed Lamu refinery as Dangote extends its refining ambitions beyond West Africa….
Dangote Group has taken another major step towards establishing a large-scale refining operation in East Africa after awarding a contract worth more than $450 million to India’s Engineers India Ltd. for its proposed refinery and petrochemical complex in Kenya.
Engineers India, EIL, disclosed the contract in a filing with the Mumbai stock exchange on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, saying it had been appointed Project Management Consultant and Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management consultant for the planned facility.
The proposed complex, to be located in Lamu on Kenya’s coast, is designed to process up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
For EIL, the agreement represents a continuation of its relationship with Dangote, having previously provided project management and engineering, procurement and construction management services for the 650,000-barrels-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals project in Lagos.
The Indian firm is also involved in work connected to the expansion of the Nigerian refinery.
The latest contract therefore links two of Dangote’s most ambitious refining projects and places EIL at the centre of the engineering and project-management work for the planned Kenyan facility.
EIL: project could reshape East Africa’s fuel supply
Engineers India said the Kenyan refinery could have a significant effect on the region’s energy market once completed.
“Once completed, this project will be critical in strengthening fuel production within East Africa, reducing reliance on imports, and supporting regional energy security,” the company said in its filing.
The project is expected to increase local and regional petroleum-product supply while reducing East Africa’s dependence on imported refined fuel.
EIL operates under the administrative control of India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and is majority-owned by the Indian government. Its shares are traded on Indian stock exchanges.
Its involvement gives Dangote an established engineering partner with previous experience on the group’s flagship refinery project in Nigeria.
Construction timeline takes shape
The contract comes as Dangote Industries Limited advances plans for the Kenyan project, which would mark a major geographical expansion of the group’s refining footprint from West Africa into East Africa.
The proposed refinery was previously estimated by Dangote Industries at about $17 billion, with an initial construction timeline of roughly five years.
Dangote has since indicated that work could begin before the end of September, with the project potentially completed in about three years.
Lamu’s position on Kenya’s coast is strategically significant for the proposed development, giving the refinery access to the Indian Ocean and positioning it to serve markets in East Africa and potentially beyond.
The project is also being presented as part of a wider effort by Dangote Group to build an interconnected energy infrastructure network across the continent.
East African countries offered stake
Dangote has also sought regional participation in the refinery.
In August, the group offered East African countries a combined 30 per cent stake in the proposed project, opening the possibility of governments and investors in the region becoming equity partners in the facility.
Kenya was reported to be considering a 10 per cent interest, while Ethiopia and Rwanda had also expressed interest.
The proposed equity structure could give the refinery a broader regional ownership base while strengthening its links with the markets it is intended to serve.
Dangote has also discussed pipeline projects that could support the movement of petroleum products across countries in the region.
Lagos refinery remains central to expansion strategy
The Kenyan project is unfolding alongside an equally ambitious expansion programme at Dangote’s refinery in Lagos.
The company plans to increase the Nigerian facility’s crude-processing capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by the first quarter of 2029, effectively doubling its planned capacity.
Funding for part of the expansion is being supported through the refinery’s ongoing public offering in Nigeria.
The IPO, which opened on September 14, involves 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at N525 each and is scheduled to close on October 13.
The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission has confirmed the commencement of the offer.
Dangote has also outlined plans for the refinery to seek a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange after the Lagos expansion is completed.
The primary listing in Nigeria is expected to come first, with a potential New York listing to follow once the refinery reaches the targeted 1.4 million-barrels-per-day capacity in 2029.
Taken together, the Lagos expansion and the proposed Lamu refinery point to an increasingly continental strategy for Dangote’s energy business with Nigeria serving as the group’s established refining base while Kenya could provide a major foothold in East Africa.
