Dangote launches Africa’s largest IPO for his Nigerian refinery

A record offering opens

Aliko Dangote has launched a public offering for Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals on the Nigerian stock exchange, beginning what is expected to become Africa’s largest initial public offering. Subscriptions opened on Monday and are scheduled to run until October 13. The transaction could add about $23 billion to Dangote’s wealth if fully subscribed, while placing a major piece of Nigeria’s energy infrastructure in public markets.

The offering has been structured to attract institutions and individual Nigerians, including relatively small investors. Its minimum subscription is 10 shares costing 5,250 naira. Full subscription would imply a refinery valuation of roughly 65.22 trillion naira. The unusually low entry threshold and promotion through banks and financial-technology platforms make domestic participation part of the flotation’s political and commercial case.

A refinery with national importance

The $20 billion refinery outside Lagos began operating in 2024 and has capacity to process about 700,000 barrels a day. It helped turn Nigeria, a major crude producer that had long imported much of its refined fuel, into a net exporter of petroleum products. That change matters for public finances and foreign-exchange demand because imported fuel and subsidies had imposed a persistent burden on the country.

The refinery is also relevant to Nigeria’s longer-term energy transition. A European aviation study formally handed to Nigerian authorities in July identified possible production of sustainable aviation fuel through co-processing at the Dangote facility. The EU-backed programme established a national steering structure and is assessing how existing refining assets and agricultural feedstocks could support lower-carbon aviation fuel. That official study does not assess the IPO’s valuation, but it confirms the refinery’s potential role beyond conventional petrol and diesel.

Execution is now the test

Investors will watch the subscription rate, the final allocation between retail and institutional buyers, and how much control remains concentrated after listing. They will also scrutinise fuel margins, feedstock supply and the refinery’s relationship with Nigerian regulators. The offering may broaden ownership of a strategically important asset, but it also places greater disclosure and performance expectations on a business closely associated with one dominant industrial group. Its success would deepen Lagos’s capital market and give other large African infrastructure companies a reference point for raising domestic equity at scale.