Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi explained that the government abandoned plans to revive the Changamwe Oil Refinery (Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd) because it was no longer commercially viable.Appearing before the Senate on May 6, 2026, Wandayi detailed several reasons for the shift toward a regional refinery deal in Tanga, Tanzania:Commercial Logic: Economic assessments found that a standalone Kenyan refinery did not make business sense due to the massive capital investment required to modernize the “technologically obsolete” 1950s-era facility.Regional Synergy: The government opted to support a shared regional refinery in Tanga that would serve Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Sudan. This larger facility, backed by Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote, is considered more viable as it can process crude from multiple regional sources, including Kenya’s Turkana region.Production Constraints: Wandayi stated that the current projected crude oil quantities from Kenya’s South Lokichar basin are insufficient to sustain a commercial refinery on their own.Repurposing Facilities: The Changamwe plant has been absorbed by the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) and repurposed as a strategic storage depot for imported refined fuels to ensure national energy security.President William Ruto echoed these sentiments during a state visit to Tanzania, describing the Tanga project as a “regional asset” that avoids the inefficiencies of exporting raw materials while importing.
