Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has selected US-based Honeywell Technologies to provide technology, licensing, engineering services and equipment for the planned 700,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Lamu County.
Honeywell announced the partnership on Wednesday, September 30, as President William Ruto and Dangote broke ground for the $16 billion refinery, which is expected to supply refined petroleum products to Kenya and other markets across East Africa.
The Honeywell package is valued at approximately $300 million, equivalent to about Sh39 billion. Its scope includes process technologies, technology licensing, engineering services, proprietary catalysts, equipment and digital solutions for the facility.
Honeywell said the Kenyan refinery will draw on engineering designs developed through its work with Dangote at the group's refinery in Lekki, Nigeria.
The company said using the established designs could reduce the development schedule for the Kenyan facility by nearly two years, or about 30 per cent compared with typical newly constructed refinery projects.
“Through our long-standing relationship with Dangote, we have developed proven large-train engineering designs that can be applied to the Kenya refinery to help significantly reduce time-to-market,” said Rajesh Gattupalli, President of Honeywell Technologies UOP.
The Lamu facility is planned to produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and polypropylene. It will also be designed to process a wide range of crude oils, from light to heavy grades, allowing Dangote to source feedstock from different regions.
The refinery is expected to serve Kenya's domestic market while supplying refined petroleum products to other countries in East Africa. The project is being positioned as a way of expanding regional refining capacity and reducing reliance on imported petroleum products.
Dangote has set a 40-month construction timeline for the facility, which is expected to become the world's largest single-train refinery once completed. Engineers India Limited has separately secured a contract worth more than $450 million for project management and engineering, procurement and construction management services.
The project, however, faces legal and environmental concerns in Lamu. Local residents have challenged aspects of the development in court over land rights, while environmental campaigners have raised concerns about potential effects on the coastal ecosystem and nearby Lamu Old Town.
Dangote has said the court dispute would not prevent the project's launch, although it could affect some activities at the site. With Honeywell now contracted for key technology and engineering works, the project has entered a new phase following the September 30 groundbreaking.
