Wednesday, September 09, 2026 - 4 min read
By Anna Tibaijuka
In the previous article, I argued that East Africa should compare ports not only as they exist today, but according to what they could realistically become by 2050. That leads to a practical question: what size of ships must a future refinery be able to handle?
This matters because refinery economics do not end at the refinery gate. Crude oil must arrive at competitive cost, and refined products must leave just as efficiently. For a large merchant refinery, shipping costs can materially affect the final cost of every barrel.
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