During a media outreach on Monday (September 8), Nigeria’s Dangote oil refinery announced its plans of spending USD 14.3 billion to double its processing capacity, as it signed documents for its initial public offering (IPO) that is slated to be Africa’s biggest ever.
The production expansion programme, due to be completed by 2029, would increase the refinery’s capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day from 700,000 currently, according to the prospectus for its IPO on Nigeria’s main stock exchange.
The venture aims to raise about 2.15 trillion naira (USD 1.63 billion) through the IPO, primarily targeting retail investors. While the listing-related preparations will run from September 14 to October 13, the shares may start trading in late November, according to an indicative listing timetable.
The Nigerian SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has already registered the refinery company’s existing 120.13 billion ordinary shares, implying a valuation of around USD 47 billion.
The refinery, which began operations in 2024, is part of the growing business empire of Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man. The conglomerate also includes cement and sugar assets.
Built at a cost of about USD 20 billion on the outskirts of Lagos, the refinery has reshaped Nigeria’s fuel market. The facility came into media headlines during the Iran war by emerging as a viable non-Gulf alternative source for Africa and Europe in terms of importing jet fuel.
During Monday’s event, Aliko Dangote said that while the refinery had profited from the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, his conglomerate eyes making the energy business sustainable over the long term.
As per the African business tycoon, UAE’s state energy giant ADNOC was interested in investing in the plant alongside others.
Among the other details mentioned in the IPO prospectus, the refinery made an after-tax profit of USD 1.82 billion in the first half of 2026, compared with a USD 476 million loss for all of 2025.
Dangote refinery will be initially offering 4.1 billion ordinary shares at 525 naira each. However, the business possesses a “greenshoe option” whereby it could sell up to 30% more if demand exceeds that amount.
“The intent is very much the people’s IPO, drive wide participation, enable Nigerians and the Nigerian diaspora, and Africans more broadly, and the opportunity to participate in this wealth creation that comes from such an iconic industrial asset, like the Dangote refinery,” David Bird, chief executive of the refinery, told Reuters.
Aliko Dangote, with a net worth estimated at up to USD 35 billion, also plans to build a refinery on Kenya’s coast in partnership with East African governments.
Talking about the IPO-bound refinery, a private placement in July indicated a valuation of USD 40 billion for the infrastructure. However, some investors and analysts described the ratio as being highly relative when compared to other listed stand-alone oil refiners.
For example, Turkey’s Tupras, which has a Dangote-like refining capacity spread across four sites, has a market value of about USD 12 billion, while New York-listed HF Sinclair, with a capacity of roughly 678,000 bpd, is valued at about USD 16 billion.
Dangote previously declared his intention of transforming the refinery into one of Africa’s largest companies, generating more than USD 12 billion in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).