Dangote Refinery Plans $5 Billion IPO and Increases Petrol Exports

Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals plans to launch a $5 billion Initial Public Offering in October 2026, which would be the largest public offering in African history. The refinery intends to use the capital to double its capacity within three years, building on a current maximum capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and production tests reaching 700,000 barrels per day.

Despite this growth, the refinery is increasing petrol exports to regional and international markets. The company reports that imported Premium Motor Spirit accounted for approximately 43 percent of the fuel supplied to the Nigerian market in July. Management stated that the continued issuance of import licenses by the regulator and a lack of transparency regarding import volumes have made holding excess inventory commercially unsustainable.

Operational challenges persist regarding crude oil supplies, with imports currently accounting for 30 percent to 40 percent of crude intake. Much of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited's crude is tied to oil-backed loans and pre-export deals, while some domestic crude is priced against international benchmarks. To address these distortions, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission is exploring a crude swap system to better match refiners with local producers.