Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to sell between five and ten percent of his multibillion-dollar petroleum refinery shares on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) within the next year.
The move aims to open up the refinery to public investors while strengthening transparency and liquidity within Nigeria’s energy sector.
Speaking in an interview with S&P Global, Dangote said the decision aligns with the strategy used for other Dangote Group companies already listed on the stock market, including Dangote Cement and Dangote Sugar. “We don’t want to keep more than 65 to 70 percent,” he said, adding that the sale would be carried out gradually depending on investor demand and market conditions.
Dangote also revealed that discussions are ongoing with investors from the Middle East to attract fresh capital that would fund the refinery’s expansion and new petrochemical projects in China. According to him, “Our business concept is going to change. Instead of being 100 percent Dangote-owned, we’ll have other partners.”
He further hinted that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) may consider increasing its current 7.2 percent stake in the refinery after a review of its operations. “I want to demonstrate what this refinery can do, then we can sit down and talk,” the industrialist explained.
The refinery, which began operations in 2024, is expected to increase its production capacity from 650,000 barrels per day to 700,000 by the end of this year. Dangote also disclosed long-term plans to boost total capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day, surpassing India’s Jamnagar refinery, currently the largest in the world.
In addition to fuel refining, the company is expanding into chemical production. Dangote said polypropylene output would rise from one million to 1.5 million metric tonnes annually, while new projects in base oils and linear alkylbenzene are underway. He added that a short one-month maintenance shutdown may occur soon for final technical adjustments, noting, “We have resolved most of the problems, and we’re looking for a window to shut down for another month.”