President William Ruto has announced fresh developments regarding a proposed multi-billion-dollar oil refinery project set to be developed in East Africa.

The update comes after Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote revealed plans to construct a refinery in Tanzania.

Addressing delegates at the Kenya Mining Investment Conference and Expo in Nairobi on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, Ruto confirmed that Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania have agreed in principle to jointly develop a single large-scale refinery.

“We have made the decision that we are going to do this together. We are going to harness the synergies of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Sudan, possibly working together, so that we can have one big refinery here,” he disclosed.

Moreover, the Head of State said that Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Sudan are exploring a coordinated approach to refine oil within the region rather than exporting crude oil for processing abroad.

“In our region, we are thinking of how all the assets that we have, whether it is the oil that we have, we must use them to industrialise our countries. We cannot continue to export or to be exporters of raw materials,” the president said, maintaining that the region must stop the export of raw materials and instead focus on local processing to create jobs and stimulate economic growth.

Ruto added that East Africa also has significant opportunities in mining and renewable energy, which should be integrated into a wider industrialisation strategy.

His revelations come days after Aliko Dangote announced plans to build an oil refinery in the Tanga area of Tanzania, calling on President Ruto and President Yoweri Museveni to support his vision to set it up.

“I can give commitment to the two presidents who were here. If they will support the refinery, we’ll build an identical one to the one we have in Nigeria,” Dangote said during the Africa We Build Summit 2026 in Nairobi on April 23, 2026.

Bolstering EAC’s oil sectors?

The announcement comes at a time when oil drilling has already begun in Turkana after the discovery of over 560 million barrels of oil reserves.

Dangote’s announcement, however, was made almost immediately after Museveni revealed Uganda was planning to build a refinery in Hoima city, with Ruto promising that Kenya would invest up to Ksh500 billion.

Following Dangote’s announcement and Ruto’s commitment, the media reported that Dangote’s plan would bypass Uganda’s dream of building its own refinery, with some publications describing it as a Uganda headache.

Ruto used the opportunity to criticise the reports, which he noted are a negative framing of the cooperation project.

“There was no headache, for heaven’s sake. There was no headache. How does three countries coming together to build one piece of infrastructure amount to a headache?” he posed.