Museveni backs Lamu refinery but holds off investment pending Tanga clarification

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has expressed support for Kenya's planned Lamu oil refinery, but stated that Uganda will not invest in the project until the status of a previous plan to develop a regional refinery at Tanzania's Tanga port is clarified. The Ugandan leader said he would address the issue with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Kenya's President William Ruto.

Museveni noted that Kenya has initiated the development of the proposed Lamu refinery, backed by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote. The project is anticipated to cost approximately Sh2.2 trillion ($16 billion) and feature a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Uganda had previously discussed establishing a refinery in Tanga with Tanzania, but the plan failed to materialize. Museveni emphasized that having multiple refineries in the region would not be detrimental, given the region's increasing demand for petroleum products. He stated that East African countries should develop processing capacity rather than export raw materials unprocessed.

Additionally, Uganda is in the process of constructing a refinery in Hoima to process crude from its Lake Albert oilfields, with crude exports planned to be transported through the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to Tanzania's Chongoleani terminal near Tanga. The Ugandan and Tanzanian governments are also working on a Tanga Regional Energy Hub that would encompass refining, storage, logistics, trading, and distribution infrastructure.