Tanzania has announced a $420 million synthetic fuel project designed to position the country as a top exporter of jet fuel in Africa, setting the stage for a potential rivalry with Nigeria’s Dangote Group, which currently dominates the continent’s refined fuel market, Business Insider Africa reported.
The gas-to-liquid (GTL) plant will produce diesel, jet fuel, naphtha, hydrogen, and fertilizer, marking one of Tanzania’s most ambitious industrial undertakings.
The project recently reached a major milestone after Canadian clean-fuel company Rocky Mountain GTL completed a feasibility study confirming its technical and economic viability.
“The project is unique and strategic for Tanzania, and we are convinced of its value,” said TPDC Director General Mussa Makame. “If all goes well, we will begin by producing jet fuel locally, eliminating the need for imports.”
Rocky Mountain GTL and Tanzanian officials have already begun detailed commercial collaboration. “They have agreed to share detailed information regarding the market and gas resources now and in the future, as well as conduct a feasibility study that will lead to the construction of the plant,” Rithi Tanzania Group executives Martin Kaswahili, Jack Pemba, and Hassan Nganzo told The Citizen.
“Once the project is up and running, Rocky Mountain GTL’s technology will supply Tanzania with diesel and jet fuel and will also be able to produce naphtha,” they added.
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The company noted that the upgraded supply chain will lower costs for local airlines by providing quicker, cheaper access to jet fuel. It also highlighted hydrogen exports to Europe and Asia as a promising high-value market, calling hydrogen demand “unlimited.”
Tanzania’s project aims to leverage its 57.54 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and could make it Africa’s first exporter of synthetic jet fuel and diesel. The modular GTL design enables the facility to be commissioned in just two years, significantly faster than conventional refineries.
This move threatens to reshape Africa’s jet-fuel landscape, long dominated by the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, the world’s largest single-train refinery, which recently began exporting aviation kerosene across the continent.
By reducing reliance on Nigerian-sourced imports, Tanzania could offer East African nations, including Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and the DRC, a closer, potentially cheaper fuel supply hub.
According to the Bank of Tanzania, petroleum products accounted for $2.6 billion in import spending last year, increasing pressure for domestic alternatives. Local financiers are pushing for priority participation to ensure Tanzanian businesses retain majority economic benefits.
If completed by 2027, the project could redefine Africa’s aviation-fuel supply chain, transforming Tanzania into a regional energy powerhouse and giving Dangote its first serious competitor on the continent.
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Image Credit: Business Insider Africa
