Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery has opened what is being described as Africa’s largest initial public offering (IPO), giving ordinary investors an opportunity to buy shares in one of the continent’s biggest industrial projects.
The share sale opened on Monday, September 14, with Dangote Group offering 4.1 billion ordinary shares at ₦525 each. If fully subscribed, the offer is expected to raise about ₦2.15 trillion ($1.6 billion), while an additional allocation could increase the proceeds if demand exceeds the initial offer.
The offer will remain open until October 13, with retail investors able to participate by purchasing as few as 10 shares through approved investment and digital platforms. The shares are expected to be listed on Nigeria’s main stock exchange later in the year.
The refinery, located near Lagos and controlled by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, was built at a cost of about $20 billion and began operations in 2024. The facility currently processes up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and has become an important part of Nigeria’s effort to reduce its dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
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Reuters reported that the refinery’s public offering values the facility at roughly $47 billion. The company intends to use the proceeds from the IPO to support further expansion, with plans to increase refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029.
The offering comes as the refinery has benefited from disruptions in global fuel supplies linked to the conflict involving Iran. Increased demand for refined products, including jet fuel, has strengthened the refinery’s position in African and international energy markets.
The IPO has also generated interest among Nigerian retail investors. Lagos-based business owner Chris Chijioke told Reuters he planned to purchase 2,000 shares but questioned whether the offer price would remain justified if the refinery’s planned expansion was delayed.
“I personally think it is overvalued,” Chijioke said.
Another investor, journalist Ibrahim Abubakar, said he intended to buy about 2,850 shares, describing the refinery as “too big to fail.”
Dangote Group expects the public offering to attract strong demand, following a private placement in July that was reportedly 3.7 times oversubscribed.
The refinery’s expansion is part of Dangote’s broader strategy to build an integrated energy and industrial business. Beyond increasing its Nigerian capacity, the group is also pursuing plans for a new refinery in Kenya.
The IPO could deepen public participation in one of Nigeria’s most significant private industrial ventures while providing capital for further expansion of a refinery that has already altered the country’s position in Africa’s petroleum market.
