Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote buys 25% of Kenya’s oil pipeline network as his East African refinery advances

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has acquired a 25% stake in Kenya Pipeline Company, deepening his control of the infrastructure needed to supply petroleum products across East Africa.

• Aliko Dangote’s company has acquired a 25% stake in Kenya Pipeline Company.
• The transaction gives Dangote access to infrastructure that transports fuel across Kenya and into neighbouring markets.
• The acquisition follows the launch of his planned $16 billion, 700,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Lamu.
• The transaction price was not disclosed, although the stake was worth about $318 million at KPC’s IPO price.

Dangote disclosed the acquisition on Wednesday at the Financial Times Africa Summit in London, saying his company bought the stake to facilitate the movement of petroleum products.

The transaction gives Africa’s richest person an interest in the company that operates Kenya’s main petroleum-products pipeline and storage network.

It also connects Dangote’s planned refinery in Kenya with an established distribution system serving the country and other fuel-importing markets in East and Central Africa.

According to Reuters⁠, Kenyan President William Ruto had disclosed on Tuesday that private investors acquired 25% of KPC from public entities.

Neither Dangote nor the Kenyan government disclosed the amount paid or identified the Dangote Group entity through which the investment was made.

However, Kenya sold KPC shares to the public earlier in 2026 at KSh9 each, valuing the entire company at approximately KSh163.6 billion, or $1.27 billion at the time.

That valuation would place a 25% holding at about KSh40.9 billion, equivalent to roughly $318 million. This is an implied value based on the IPO price, not the confirmed purchase consideration.

Dangote connects refining with distribution

The acquisition comes weeks after Dangote broke ground on a planned 700,000-barrel-a-day refinery at Kenya’s Lamu port.

Dangote has estimated that the refinery will cost about $16 billion. It is being developed to supply Kenya and other East African markets, many of which rely heavily on imported petroleum products.

Regional governments have been offered a combined 30% interest in the refinery. Kenya and Rwanda are among the governments considering participation, with Dangote offering them the option of paying for their stakes over four years.

An interest in KPC could allow Dangote to connect the proposed refinery to an existing network rather than depend entirely on separately developed distribution infrastructure.

KPC operates a pipeline system of approximately 1,342 kilometres, linking the port city of Mombasa with Nairobi and western Kenya. Its network also supports fuel distribution to landlocked neighbours, including Uganda, Rwanda and parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The company describes itself as the operator of East and Central Africa’s primary petroleum-products pipeline and storage network. It has also paid as much as KSh7 billion annually to Kenya’s National Treasury in recent years.

Kenya’s major privatisation

Earlier this year, President Ruto’s government sold a 65% stake in KPC through Kenya’s first major initial public offering in almost two decades.

The government offered approximately 11.8 billion shares at KSh9 each and raised KSh106.3 billion, or about $823 million. The offer was oversubscribed despite concerns about its valuation and an extension of the subscription period.

The sale formed part of Ruto’s plan to finance infrastructure by privatising state assets and securitising future revenue rather than relying exclusively on taxes and additional borrowing.

Dangote’s investment creates a strategic link between Kenya’s privatised fuel-transportation infrastructure and one of the continent’s largest proposed industrial projects.

It could also intensify competition for established fuel importers and distributors. If the Lamu refinery begins production as planned, Dangote would have an interest in both the production and transportation of petroleum products in one of Africa’s fastest-growing energy markets.

Dangote already operates a large refinery outside Lagos and is pursuing further investments in refining, fertiliser, cement and energy infrastructure across Africa.

The KPC acquisition suggests that his East African strategy extends beyond constructing another refinery. It is also aimed at controlling part of the infrastructure required to move its products to consumers across the region.