Dangote Refinery IPO to Open Within 12 Days as Africa’s Biggest Oil Listing Targets $5bn

Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery is set to open its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) within the next 10 to 12 days, according to Aliko Dangote, as Africa’s largest refinery moves closer to the capital market.

Dangote disclosed the timeline while speaking to investors in Botswana, saying the refinery’s IPO is expected to open within days. The offering is targeting about $5 billion, potentially making it one of the largest public share offerings in Africa.

The planned IPO represents a major step for the refinery, which has become one of Nigeria’s most significant industrial projects since beginning operations.

The 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lagos reached its full nameplate capacity in February 2026. The facility has also tested production at levels of up to 700,000 barrels per day.

The planned fundraising comes as Dangote prepares to expand the refinery further. The businessman has said the facility’s capacity is expected to eventually rise to about 1.4 million barrels per day.

The IPO would give investors an opportunity to acquire an interest in the refinery as Dangote seeks additional capital for expansion and other business plans.

The proposed listing is also significant for Nigeria’s capital market because of the scale of the refinery and the amount being targeted. Previous reports indicated that the company had been preparing for a public offering after submitting an application to Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission.

The timing of the offering will remain subject to the applicable regulatory and capital-market processes.

Dangote’s latest disclosure provides a more specific timetable after months of reports about plans to take the refinery public.

Beyond Nigeria, the Dangote Group is also pursuing other expansion plans. Dangote said a secondary listing of Dangote Cement on the London Stock Exchange is expected in October.

He also disclosed plans for a new refinery on Kenya’s coast, which is expected to serve Kenya and neighbouring East African markets. The project is scheduled to begin on September 30 and is expected to take about three years to complete.

The Dangote Refinery IPO will therefore come at a time when the group is pursuing expansion across refining, cement and other industrial operations.

If the $5 billion target is achieved, the offering would rank among the most significant capital-market transactions involving an African company.

For Nigerian investors, the IPO is expected to attract considerable attention because of the refinery’s size, its position in the domestic petroleum market and the scale of the proposed fundraising.

The company’s move towards an IPO also marks another stage in the transformation of the refinery from a privately funded industrial project into a publicly accessible investment opportunity.