Kenya is deepening energy ties with Azerbaijan as Nairobi seeks new partners for its proposed East African oil refinery project, signaling a broader strategy to diversify investment sources amid growing regional competition over refining and fuel infrastructure.
President William Ruto held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and executives from the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) during the World Urban Forum in Baku, where both sides discussed cooperation in oil, gas, renewable energy, and infrastructure development.
In a post on X, Ruto said Kenya was “strengthening cooperation with Azerbaijan, through the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), in the energy sector, particularly in oil and gas, and renewable energy, as part of Kenya’s drive to attract strategic investment to expand energy generation.”
Ruto also revealed that the talks explored “the possibility of SOCAR investing in the proposed East African oil refinery,” reinforcing Kenya’s ambition to position itself as a future regional energy and refining hub.
He added that Kenya aims to leverage SOCAR’s expertise in gas exploration and renewable energy to support the country’s ambition of generating 10,000MW of electricity within the next decade.
