Refining

Ethiopia built its first oil refinery in 1967 in the Port of Assab. The refinery built by Russian engineers during the Imperial regime had the capacity to produce 500,000 tons of fuel per year. During the military regime it was upgraded to process 800,000 tons of fuel. After the secession of Eritrea, where the refinery is currently located, Ethiopia continued to use the refinery until 1997. However, the Assab refinery was ageing and it became too small to satisfy the needs of the two countries. As from May 1997, Ethiopia began importing refined petroleum products. Currently, 100% of the fuel demand is imported.

Fairfax Africa Fund, a US-based investment firm, in collaboration with multiple partners from Asian countries, is planning to build an oil refinery in Ethiopia with a total