Race for EA oil projects: $16bn Lamu refinery puts Ugandan plan to the test

A new mega refinery on Kenya’s coast is reshaping the oil landscape as Kampala navigates competing projects to extract more value from its crude oil. For over a decade, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has defended exporting Uganda’s crude south through Tanzania rather than east through Kenya to the Lamu port. The $16 billion Lamu refinery, scheduled to break ground by September 30, is a key factor in the regional competition over oil projects.