Dangote Plans to List 10% Stake in $20bn Refinery on NGX to Attract Global Investors
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has revealed plans to sell between five and 10 percent of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) within the next year. The move marks a major step toward opening the refinery to both local and international investors, following the model of other Dangote Group companies listed on the stock market, such as Dangote Cement and Dangote Sugar Refinery.
Speaking in an interview with S&P Global, Dangote said the group’s goal is to retain no more than 65–70 percent ownership of the refinery, noting that the share sale would be rolled out gradually based on market conditions and investor demand. He explained that the partial listing aligns with the company’s long-term vision of broadening its ownership structure and improving liquidity on the Nigerian stock market.
Dangote also disclosed that the group is in talks with strategic investors from the Middle East to finance ongoing expansion projects and support a new petrochemicals venture in China. “Our business concept is changing. Instead of being 100 percent Dangote-owned, we’ll now have other partners,” he said, emphasizing a shift from private ownership to a more collaborative global business model.
Addressing questions about the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Dangote hinted that the state oil firm could increase its stake in the refinery once it moves into the next phase of growth. The NNPC currently holds a 7.2 percent share, after reducing its initial investment earlier this year. “I want to demonstrate what this refinery can do, then we can sit down and talk,” Dangote remarked.
Commissioned in 2024, the $20 billion Dangote Refinery currently processes 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd) and aims to ramp up to 700,000 bpd by the end of 2025. In the long term, production is expected to rise to 1.4 million bpd, potentially surpassing India’s Jamnagar Refinery, the world’s largest, which produces 1.36 million bpd. Beyond refining, Dangote plans to expand chemical production — boosting polypropylene output to 1.5 million metric tonnes annually — and launch new projects in base oils and linear alkylbenzene. He added that while most technical challenges have been resolved, a brief one-month maintenance shutdown may be scheduled to optimize operations without affecting fuel supply during the year-end demand surge.
source: vanguard