Djibouti-Ethiopia: Dangote launches a $660 million oil pipeline

The Nigerian Dangote Group, Ethiopia, and Djibouti launched a $660 million oil pipeline project on September 24, 2026, designed to transport refined petroleum products from the Djiboutian coast to Ethiopian territory. The ceremony was held in the Damerjog industrial free zone in Djibouti, in the presence of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Djiboutian President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, and industrialist Aliko Dangote, according to Premium Times and Engineering News.

A vital corridor for Ethiopia

Named the Damerjog-Dewele Oil Terminal and Pipeline Project, the work involves a 120-kilometer multi-product pipeline connecting maritime storage facilities in Damerjog to an inland depot in Dewele, on the Ethiopian side. According to Engineering News, storage capacities will reach approximately 375,000 cubic meters in Djibouti and 800,000 cubic meters in Ethiopia. The project is expected to be operational within 18 months.

As a landlocked country, Ethiopia relies heavily on the port of Djibouti for its fuel imports, which are currently transported largely by tanker trucks over long distances. The pipeline aims to reduce logistics costs and delays along this corridor, and to decrease the risks associated with the road transport of hydrocarbons.

Leaders betting on regional integration

According to Premium Times, Abiy Ahmed stated that the infrastructure would strengthen his country's energy security through a more efficient and reliable channel. For his part, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh sees it as "an investment in the future prosperity of our region," which should reinforce Djibouti's ambition to become a logistics and energy hub. The project will be led by a partnership between Ethiopian Investment Holdings, the Ethiopian sovereign wealth fund, and the Dangote Group.

Dangote's continental strategy

This project is part of the group's "Vision 2030" strategy, which provides for $50 billion in investments in industry and energy on the continent, according to Premium Times. In Ethiopia, Dangote is already building a $4 billion fertilizer complex and power plant, as well as a polypropylene packaging plant, reports Engineering News. The group is also preparing a 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lamu, Kenya.

For Story Africa, this project illustrates a fundamental trend: African capital financing African infrastructure, in the service of regional integration. It remains to be seen whether the schedule will be met and what the concrete impact will be in terms of jobs and pump prices for Ethiopian consumers.