By Staff Reporter
Environmental lobby group Greenpeace Africa has urged the government to halt approvals for the proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery in Lamu.
The organization warned that the multibillion-shilling project could cause irreversible damage to one of East Africa’s most sensitive coastal ecosystems.
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In a statement, the organisation said the planned refinery, proposed by Kenyan authorities in partnership with Africa’s richest businessman Aliko Dangote poses significant environmental, economic and climate risks that must be fully assessed before any approvals are granted.
“This project threatens to damage one of East Africa’s most fragile coastal ecosystems while locking Kenya into a risky fossil fuel future,” said Sherelee Odayar, Greenpeace Africa’s Oil and Gas Campaigner.
Odayar warned that Lamu’s mangroves, coral reefs and seagrass beds support fisheries, livelihoods and coastal protection, arguing that they “are not expendable.”
“A mega-refinery of this scale brings habitat destruction, marine degradation, oil spill risk and dangerous air pollution,” she said.
The environmental organisation also questioned claims that the project would create thousands of jobs, saying the economic benefits could be outweighed by losses in fishing, tourism and other local industries.
“The promise of ‘thousands of jobs’ cannot be used to hide the true cost of this investment. Large fossil fuel projects often create temporary jobs while undermining existing livelihoods in fishing, tourism and small-scale local economies,” Odayar added.
Greenpeace further argued that the refinery risks becoming a stranded asset as countries accelerate the transition to cleaner energy.
“It would also lock Kenya into decades of carbon-intensive development, worsening climate change and its impacts,” Odayar said, adding that the capital earmarked for the refinery could instead be invested in solar, wind, geothermal energy, electricity storage and improved energy access.
The organisation called for an immediate suspension of approvals until an independent Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) is completed, made public and subjected to meaningful public participation.
It said the assessment should evaluate the cumulative impacts on Lamu’s marine ecosystems and fishing livelihoods alongside the long-term economic risks associated with fossil fuel infrastructure.
The statement comes days after Dangote Industries confirmed plans to build the 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lamu, with soil testing and engineering works already underway.
The facility, expected to cost about US$17 billion, would become East Africa’s largest oil refinery and is intended to supply Kenya and neighbouring countries with refined petroleum products.
