Aliko Dangote has said his petroleum refinery will expand its capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by early 2029, as he urged Nigerians and other African investors to participate in the company’s ongoing initial public offering.
The president and chief executive of Dangote Petroleum Refinery made the announcement on Monday during a virtual address at the final IPO roadshow in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Dangote said the expansion would strengthen the refinery’s position in the global energy market and boost Africa’s industrial development.
“By 2029 beginning, we will be at 1.4 million barrels per day. That is a total of 10 per cent of America’s total refining capacity,” he said.
The refinery currently has a published crude distillation capacity of 700,000 barrels per day. The proposed expansion would double that figure, placing the facility among the largest refining complexes globally.
Dangote also projected increased petrochemical production, saying the refinery would produce 2.5 million tonnes of polyolefin and 400,000 metric tonnes of linear alkylbenzene.
Dangote Assures Small Investors
The refinery owner also sought to reassure retail investors concerned about the level of demand for the public offer and the availability of shares.
He said applicants seeking 50,000 shares or fewer would be accommodated.
“Most of the smaller people who are bidding for 50,000 shares and below will definitely be sure that we accommodate all of them,” Dangote said.
The IPO offer price is ₦525 per share, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares, equivalent to ₦5,250.
Dangote described the offer price as attractive and expressed confidence in the refinery’s financial performance. He also presented the shares as a long-term investment opportunity.
He told prospective investors that returns could more than double their investments within two and a half years and said returns would be in dollars.
However, the projections are not guaranteed outcomes. The company’s investor information states that dividends depend on its performance and board decisions, while share prices can rise or fall.
Rewane Projects Capital Market Growth
Chief executive of Financial Derivatives Company, Bismarck Rewane, urged Nigerians to view the IPO as an opportunity to become investors in strategic industrial infrastructure.
Rewane projected that the listing could push Nigeria’s capital market capitalisation above ₦220 trillion.
He described the offer as an opportunity to broaden public ownership of major businesses and encourage Nigerians to invest in productive assets.
Economist and chief executive of the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, said the refinery could strengthen Nigeria’s economic fundamentals through industrialisation, job creation and reduced dependence on imported petroleum products.
Yusuf said the refinery’s impact extended beyond fuel production to petrochemicals, packaging, plastics and other industries that depend on locally processed raw materials.
He added that the IPO could deepen participation in the capital market and expand public ownership of strategic industrial assets.
Usoro Calls for Niger Delta Participation
Senior Advocate of Nigeria Paul Usoro, the special guest of honour at the roadshow, urged people from the South-South and the wider Niger Delta to participate in the share offering.
Usoro said he had invested in the refinery and stressed that Nigerians should have a stake in industries built around the country’s natural resources.
He recalled the long queues that used to form at petrol stations before domestic refining capacity expanded, arguing that local production could help reduce disruptions associated with dependence on imported fuel.
The IPO forms part of the refinery’s broader financing and expansion plans.
The offering’s closing date has been extended to October 27, 2026, to give more investors time to participate.
The refinery’s planned expansion and the level of investor participation will be important developments to watch as the company pursues its target of increasing capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029.
