UPDATE 1-Africa’s richest man Dangote eyes Kenya for new refinery, FT reports

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote ​is looking at Kenya as ‌the ​site of a 650,000-barrel-a-day oil refinery that he intends to build in East Africa, the Financial Times ‌reported on Sunday, citing an interview with him. “I’m leaning more towards Mombasa because Mombasa has a much larger, deeper port,” Dangote said in the ‌interview.

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote ​is looking at Kenya as ‌the ​site of a 650,000-barrel-a-day oil refinery that he intends to build in East Africa, the Financial Times ‌reported on Sunday, citing an interview with him.

“I’m leaning more towards Mombasa because Mombasa has a much larger, deeper port,” Dangote said in the ‌interview. The report comes after Kenyan President William Ruto said last month ‌that East African countries were discussing plans for a joint oil refinery at the Tanzanian port of Tanga that is modeled on Nigeria's Dangote operation.

However, Dangote in the ⁠interview ​compared Kenya’s Mombasa to ⁠Tanzania's Tanga port, and said, “Kenyans consume more. It’s a bigger economy.” “The ball is in ⁠the hands of President Ruto,” he said. “Whatever President Ruto says is what ​I’ll do,” he added.

Dangote estimated it would cost $15 billion to $17 ⁠billion to build the refinery, the FT report said. East Africa currently imports all of its ⁠refined ​petroleum products, mainly from the Middle East, leaving the region vulnerable to the supply disruptions and price spikes that have been seen during ⁠the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote, at an infrastructure summit ⁠in Nairobi ⁠last month, said he could replicate his 650,000-barrel-a-day Nigerian refinery in East Africa, provided governments in the region supported ‌the ‌initiative.