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Dangote Group has signed a deal worth more than $450 million with Engineers India Ltd. (EIL) to oversee the development of its planned 700,000-barrels-per-day greenfield refinery and petrochemical plant in Lamu, Kenya.
Engineers India disclosed the contract in a filing on the Mumbai stock exchange on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
The deal brings the Indian engineering firm into another major Dangote refinery project after it served as project management and engineering, procurement and construction management consultant for the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals project in Lagos.
Engineers India outlines Kenya refinery impact
Engineers India said the planned refinery is expected to increase fuel production in East Africa, reduce the region’s dependence on imports and strengthen energy security once completed.
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- “Once completed, this project will be critical in strengthening fuel production within East Africa, reducing reliance on imports, and supporting regional energy security,” Engineers India, or EIL, said in the filing.
- EIL will serve as the Project Management Consultant and Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management consultant for the 700,000-barrels-per-day greenfield refinery and petrochemical complex.
- The company operates under the administrative control of India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and is majority-owned by the Indian government, while its shares are listed on Indian stock exchanges.
EIL previously worked with Dangote on the Lagos refinery, providing PMC and EPCM services for the 650,000-barrels-per-day facility, and is also involved in the refinery’s ongoing expansion.
The new contract therefore extends an existing engineering relationship between Dangote and EIL from the Lagos refinery to the planned Kenyan facility.
Dangote moves closer to Kenya refinery
The EIL contract comes as Dangote Group moves closer to beginning construction of the Kenyan refinery, which is planned for Lamu on Kenya’s coast and is expected to expand the group’s refining operations from West Africa into East Africa.
- In July, Dangote Industries Limited said the proposed refinery was estimated to cost $17 billion and could take about five years to complete. More recently, Aliko Dangote said construction would begin by the end of September, with completion expected within about three years.
The project is designed to complement Dangote’s Lagos refinery and extend the group’s energy operations towards the Indian Ocean.
- In August, Dangote also offered East African countries a combined 30% equity stake in the proposed refinery. Kenya was reported to be considering a 10% stake, while Ethiopia and Rwanda had also expressed interest, potentially giving regional investors an interest in the project.
The planned Kenyan refinery forms part of Dangote’s broader push to develop energy infrastructure across Africa, alongside proposed pipeline projects connecting countries in the region.
Dangote expands Lagos refinery
The Kenya project is being pursued as Dangote continues to expand the Lagos refinery, with plans to increase its crude-processing capacity from 700,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day by the first quarter of 2029.
The plan for the expansion is being partly supported by the refinery’s ongoing initial public offering in Nigeria.
- The IPO opened on September 14 and is scheduled to close on October 13, with the offer comprising 4.1 billion shares priced at N525 each. The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed the opening of the public offer.
Dangote has also disclosed plans for the refinery to pursue a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange after the Lagos expansion is completed.
Aliko Dangote said the primary listing in Nigeria would come first, followed by a potential New York listing after the refinery delivers the planned expansion to 1.4 million barrels per day by the first quarter of 2029.
