Dangote Petroleum Refinery has officially filed with Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to begin the approval process for its planned Initial Public Offering (IPO), bringing it closer to what could become Africa’s biggest stock market listing.

SEC Director-General Emomotimi Agama said the commission is working with the refinery and its advisers to process the application and does not expect any regulatory issues to delay the planned listing. Although no official date has been approved, the refinery is still targeting a September 2026 listing on the Nigerian Exchange.

The IPO is expected to be one of the largest in Africa and could significantly boost Nigeria’s capital market by increasing market depth and liquidity.

The filing comes shortly after Dangote Refinery raised $2.5 billion through a private placement that was 3.7 times oversubscribed, highlighting strong investor interest in the company. The funds will support operations at the refinery, which has a production capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The SEC also revealed that it has concluded investigations into the unauthorized promotion of the planned IPO before regulatory approval was obtained and is imposing sanctions on those found to have violated market rules.

Meanwhile, Standard Bank Group has pledged to support the refinery’s listing and future expansion projects, while the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has granted Pension Fund Administrators regulatory forbearance to invest in the IPO.

If completed as planned, the listing is expected to become one of the largest on the Nigerian Exchange, giving retail and institutional investors an opportunity to own shares in the refinery and further strengthening Nigeria’s capital market.