Chairman of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to sell between five and ten percent of the refinery’s shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited within the next year.
Speaking in an interview with S&P Global, Dangote said the move aligns with the company’s strategy of following in the footsteps of other Dangote Group subsidiaries already listed on the stock market, such as Dangote Cement and Dangote Sugar Refinery.
“We don’t want to keep more than 65%-70%,” Dangote stated, explaining that the refinery shares would be offered gradually depending on investor demand and market conditions.
He also revealed that the group is currently exploring strategic partnerships with investors from the Middle East to finance the refinery’s expansion and support a new petrochemicals project in China.
“Our business concept is going to change. Now, instead of being 100 percent Dangote-owned, we’ll have other partners,” he said.
Dangote further hinted at a possible increase in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPC) stake in the refinery. The NNPC had previously reduced its ownership to 7.2 percent, but Dangote noted that further discussions could take place once the refinery’s next growth phase begins.
“I want to demonstrate what this refinery can do, then we can sit down and talk,” he added.
The Dangote Refinery, which began operations in 2024, aims to boost its production capacity from 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 700,000 bpd by the end of 2025. The long-term goal, according to Dangote, is to expand to 1.4 million bpd, surpassing Jamnagar Refinery in India, currently the world’s largest with 1.36 million bpd capacity.
Beyond refining, the company is also investing in chemical production, including plans to increase polypropylene output from one million to 1.5 million metric tonnes annually and launch new projects in base oils and linear alkylbenzene.
On ongoing maintenance efforts, Dangote said most technical issues have been resolved but hinted at a one-month shutdown for final system adjustments.
“We have resolved most, not all, but most of the problems. And I think we’re looking for a window when we shut down for another month,” he said.
He emphasized that the scheduled maintenance would be carefully timed to avoid disrupting supply during the end-of-year fuel demand surge.
