NAIROBI, Kenya- Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has selected U.S. technology company Honeywell for work valued at approximately $300 million, roughly Sh39 billion, at its planned oil refinery in Lamu.
Honeywell will supply engineering services, processing technology, equipment and digital systems for the facility, which is designed to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
The company described the expected value of its project scope as approximately $300 million.
The announcement came on Wednesday as President William Ruto and Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote broke ground for the refinery, placing another major international supplier behind the Kenyan project.
Nigerian designs to help shorten delivery
Honeywell said the development would draw on engineering designs already used at Dangote’s refinery in Lekki, Nigeria.
The companies expect that approach to shorten the Kenyan project’s development schedule by nearly two years, or about 30 per cent compared with a typical newly built refinery.
That is a projected saving against a conventional development timetable, rather than a reduction to the 40-month commissioning target Dangote announced in Lamu.
The agreement extends a relationship spanning nearly a decade. Honeywell has also been supporting the expansion of Dangote’s Nigerian refinery towards a capacity of 1.4 million barrels per day.
Technology for fuel and plastics production
Honeywell’s scope includes licences for processing technologies, engineering services, specialised catalysts, equipment and digital solutions.
The planned refinery will produce petrol, diesel, jet fuel and polypropylene, a material used by plastics manufacturers.
Its processing systems will accommodate crude oils ranging from light to heavy grades, allowing the facility to obtain supplies from different regions.
That flexibility is intended to reduce dependence on a single crude supplier.
Honeywell Technologies UOP President Rajesh Gattupalli said the companies’ previous work had produced engineering designs that could be applied to the Kenyan refinery to accelerate delivery.
Another major contract for Lamu
The Honeywell selection follows a separate $450 million project engineering contract awarded to Engineers India Limited.
The two companies will contribute to the wider refinery development, whose latest estimated cost is $16 billion, approximately Sh2.1 trillion.
During Wednesday’s groundbreaking, Dangote pledged to commission the facility within 40 months.
He also announced plans for a training school serving 1,000 people, including engineering degree and diploma holders.
The ceremony brought together Ruto, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other African leaders.
The refinery is intended to supply Kenya and neighbouring markets while expanding the region’s ability to process crude oil locally.
Land dispute remains unresolved
The contract announcement and groundbreaking come while a dispute over part of the proposed project land remains before the courts.
Residents claiming ancestral rights challenged the development, prompting an order requiring the prevailing position on disputed land to be maintained pending further proceedings.
Dangote Group said the ruling did not prevent the groundbreaking ceremony, although it could affect activities at the site.
