Dangote Refinery plans New York Stock Exchange listing after 2029 expansion

Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange after completing an expansion that will double its crude-processing capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by the first quarter of 2029.

The plan was disclosed by Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, during the Qatar Economic Forum, powered by Bloomberg, where he said the New York listing would follow the refinery’s primary listing in Nigeria and the completion of its capacity expansion.

The disclosure comes as Dangote Refinery’s N2.15 trillion initial public offering continues in Nigeria.

The offer, which opened on September 14 and is scheduled to close on October 13, comprises 4.1 billion new ordinary shares priced at N525 each, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares valued at N5,250.

What Dangote is saying

The proposed overseas listing would come as the refinery moves into a significantly larger phase of its operations.

The company currently has the capacity to process 700,000 barrels of crude daily and plans to take this to 1.4 million barrels per day by the first quarter of 2029. The expansion is expected to strengthen the refinery’s position as a major supplier of refined petroleum products to Nigeria and other African markets.

Dangote said the Nigerian listing would come first, followed by a potential New York listing after the expansion is delivered.

• “We are doing a primary listing in Nigeria and then we will also hopefully list in New York. But that is after we deliver the expansion” to 1.4 million barrels a day by the first quarter of 2029, he said.

A secondary listing in New York would give Dangote Refinery access to a broader pool of investors beyond Africa.

For now, the company is also working with banks to enable Africans outside Nigeria to participate in the primary Nigerian listing, with Dangote saying the company has found “a way for them to invest.”

Get up to speed

The company has previously indicated that it could eventually pursue a listing outside Nigeria, although the immediate priority has been the Nigerian IPO.

• In August, Dangote Refinery CEO David Bird said the company would not pursue a foreign stock market listing for at least three years, as it focused on establishing consistent production and financial performance while preparing for what was expected to become Africa’s largest stock market listing.
• Dangote’s latest comments broadly align with that timeline, with the New York listing now linked specifically to the completion of the refinery’s planned expansion to 1.4 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2029.
• The refinery had also been reported to be considering listings across multiple African stock exchanges.

In April, Nairametrics reported that Dangote planned to offer shares in the refinery on multiple African stock exchanges, potentially creating a cross-border public offering across the continent. The report followed comments by Frank Mwiti, chief executive officer of the Nairobi Securities Exchange, after a meeting involving Dangote and heads of African exchanges.

What you should know

The planned expansion of the Lagos refinery is taking place alongside Dangote’s broader push to establish a refining footprint across Africa.

• Dangote Industries is advancing plans for another 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lamu, Kenya, with the project estimated at about $17 billion. In July, company officials said the site had been selected, while soil testing and engineering and design work had begun.
• The proposed Kenyan refinery is expected to expand Dangote’s refining operations beyond Nigeria and establish a second major refining base on Africa’s eastern coast.

In August, Dangote offered East African countries a combined 30% equity stake in the proposed refinery, potentially giving regional investors access to about $1.5 billion of the project. Kenya is considering a 10% stake, while Ethiopia and Rwanda have also expressed interest, according to David Ndii, economic adviser to Kenyan President William Ruto.

The Kenyan project is part of a wider expansion strategy that also includes infrastructure for moving petroleum products across the continent.