By Charles Pemu 
LAGOS — The Chairman of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to sell a portion of the refinery’s shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited within the next year.
Speaking in an interview with S&P Global, Dangote revealed that the group intends to sell between five and ten percent of the refinery’s shares, following the same listing strategy utilized by other Dangote Group subsidiaries like Dangote Cement and Dangote Sugar Refinery.
“We don’t want to keep more than 65 to 70 per cent,” Dangote stated, emphasizing that the shares will be offered gradually, dependent on investor demand and prevailing market conditions.
The industrialist also disclosed that the group is actively exploring strategic partnerships with investors from the Middle East. These external investments are sought to fund the refinery’s planned expansion and support a new petrochemicals project in China.
“Our business concept is going to change,” he noted, adding, “Now, instead of being 100 per cent Dangote-owned, we’ll have other partners.”
Dangote also hinted at a potential increase in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)’s stake in the facility. While the national oil company currently holds 7.2 percent ownership, Dangote suggested further discussions could occur once the refinery enters its next growth phase. “I want to demonstrate what this refinery can do, then we can sit down and talk,” he said.
The refinery, which began operations in 2024, plans to ramp up its capacity from 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 700,000 bpd by the end of this year. The long-term vision is ambitious: to increase output to 1.4 million bpd, surpassing the world’s current largest refinery in Jamnagar, India, which produces 1.36 million bpd.
Beyond refining, the company is also expanding its chemical production, with plans to boost polypropylene output and develop new projects in base oils and linear alkylbenzene.
Commenting on ongoing maintenance, Dangote confirmed that most technical issues have been resolved but indicated that a one-month shutdown might still be required for final adjustments. He assured that the maintenance window would be carefully timed to avoid disrupting fuel supply during the end-of-year surge in demand.