Dangote Unveils Pan-African Petroleum Distribution Network, Advocates Industrial Protection

President and chief executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has unveiled plans to establish an extensive petroleum distribution network across Africa through strategic investments in pipelines, storage facilities and supply corridors.

He urged African governments to adopt policies that protect domestic industries and accelerate industrialisation.

Dangote said the Group is aggressively expanding its petroleum logistics and distribution infrastructure across East, Central and Southern Africa as part of efforts to strengthen energy security, improve access to refined products and eliminate longstanding supply bottlenecks across the continent.

Speaking during a wide-ranging interview with Financial Times Africa Editor David Pilling at the FT Africa Summit in London, the industrialist disclosed that the Group recently acquired a 25 per cent stake in a petroleum products pipeline network in Kenya and is pursuing additional infrastructure projects connecting Djibouti and Ethiopia, alongside investments in Cameroon and Namibia.

According to him, Africa’s aspiration for economic transformation will remain difficult to achieve without significant investments in infrastructure combined with industrial policies that promote local manufacturing, preserve productive capacity and create sustainable employment.

“Allowing imports to displace local production means we are exporting our jobs out of the continent and importing poverty into the continent,” Dangote said.

He explained that the expansion forms part of a broader strategy to develop an interconnected African energy supply system capable of linking major refining centres with underserved markets that have historically depended on imported petroleum products.

He revealed that the acquisition of a 25 per cent stake in Kenya’s petroleum pipeline network was achieved with the support of the Kenyan government and would significantly enhance the movement of refined petroleum products within the East African region.

“Just let me tell you, yesterday, with the support from the President of Kenya, we bought 25 per cent of the pipeline network for the distribution of petroleum products,” he disclosed.

The Group is also developing a major petroleum distribution corridor linking Djibouti and Addis Ababa, complete with storage terminals and tank farms, while a strategic project in Cameroon is nearing completion. Namibia has been identified as a critical hub for Southern African markets.

“From our refinery to Namibia is just about four days of steaming,” he noted, adding that products from Lagos will be distributed to Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The expansion complements plans to establish another refinery in Lamu, Kenya, with a projected capacity of 700,000 barrels per day to serve East Africa’s growing economies.

Beyond energy, Dangote advocated policies protecting domestic industries from unfair competition.

“If America is now saying, no, we are going to protect our industries, who are we in Africa not to protect our own industries?” he asked.

He disclosed that the Group has earmarked $50 billion for investments between 2026 and 2030.

“The legacy we are trying to set up is how do we industrialise our continent? The journey has started. But now we’re awake, and we will make it happen,” Dangote declared.