Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, says his company plans to sell between 5 and 10 percent of its shares in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) within the next year.
In an interview with S&P Global, Dangote said the listing would follow the same model used for Dangote Cement and Dangote Sugar, with the company expected to retain about 65 to 70 percent ownership. The billionaire noted that the shares will be released gradually, depending on investor interest and market conditions.
He added that the group is seeking partnerships with investors from the Middle East to support the refinery’s next growth phase and to fund new petrochemical projects in China. “We’re changing our business model — it won’t be 100 percent Dangote-owned anymore. We’ll bring in partners,” he explained.
Dangote also mentioned that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited could increase its stake in the refinery later, but only after the facility achieves full operational stability and expansion milestones.
The businessman revealed that plans are underway to raise the refinery’s capacity from the current 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day, which would make it larger than India’s Jamnagar Refinery, currently the world’s biggest at 1.36 million bpd.
In addition to refining, the company is expanding its petrochemical operations — including projects for linear alkylbenzene and base oils — and plans to raise polypropylene output from 1 million to 1.5 million metric tonnes per year.
Dangote said most technical challenges at the refinery’s residue fluid catalytic cracker have been resolved, and a short maintenance shutdown is planned at a time that won’t disrupt year-end fuel demand.
On the refinery’s restructuring, he confirmed that recent layoffs involving about 800 employees were part of a broader reorganisation, which he said is now nearly complete and has improved relations with labour unions.
He added that the company’s upstream oil operations in the Niger Delta — covering oil mining leases 71 and 72 — are expected to start production soon, with output projected to reach up to 40,000 barrels per day.
Dangote emphasized that while the company remains open to new exploration opportunities, the main priority is to consolidate its current projects and strengthen performance across its existing assets.
