Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, has disclosed intentions to initiate a public listing of the Group’s Nigerian crude oil refinery by the end of 2026, with a view to broadening the company’s investor base. This development was reported by Bloomberg and disclosed during remarks made by Mr. Dangote at the Annual General Meeting of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) held in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
In addition, Mr. Dangote revealed that the Group’s urea manufacturing facility, which possesses a production capacity of 2.8 million metric tonnes per annum, is scheduled to be listed before the close of the current calendar year.
The Dangote Refinery, valued at approximately USD 20 billion, commenced operations in 2024 and is situated on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. The refinery has the capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day, making it the largest facility of its kind on the African continent. It is currently producing aviation fuel, naphtha, diesel, and gasoline.
Speaking on the rationale behind the proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO), Mr. Dangote emphasized the strategic importance of public participation in the refinery’s ownership structure. He remarked:
“It is important to list the refinery so that people will not be calling us a monopoly. They will now say we have shares, so let everybody have a part of it.”
The proposed listing is expected to attract interest from a broad spectrum of investors, including state-owned pension funds, thereby fostering transparency, inclusivity, and wider economic participation in one of the region’s most significant industrial undertakings.
Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, has disclosed that the Group has discontinued plans to commence construction of a 5,000-tonne steel manufacturing facility, a project which was originally scheduled to begin upon completion of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. The decision to suspend the proposal, which had reached preliminary planning stages, was attributed to public and regulatory concerns regarding potential monopolistic control within strategic sectors of the Nigerian economy.
In a separate development, Mr. Dangote reiterated projections that Dangote Group’s consolidated revenue will reach $30 billion by the 2026 fiscal year. Speaking at a high-level industry event, he further declared an ambitious objective: to position the company as the world’s largest exporter of urea, surpassing Qatar, within a four-year horizon.
At present, the Group operates Africa’s largest granulated urea complex, with a current installed capacity of 3 million metric tonnes per annum, of which approximately 37% is exported to the United States. To meet the stated goal of global market leadership, the Group will be required to double its existing output. Mr. Dangote emphasized that he is not deterred by the imposition of trade tariffs under former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
Industry analysts maintain an optimistic outlook for the global fertiliser market; however, they caution that the scale of expansion envisioned by the Dangote Group presents significant challenges. According to Seth Goldstein, Senior Equity Analyst at Morningstar Research:
“Any new fertiliser plant or expansion project faces cost overrun risks to the producer.”
Mikolah Judson, an analyst at the international consultancy firm Control Risks, identified infrastructure constraints, particularly related to transportation logistics and port capacity, as persistent obstacles to efficient operation. He stated:
“Bottlenecks routinely delay various import and export projects in Nigeria.”
Despite such hurdles, Mr. Dangote’s reputation for executing high-capital, large-scale infrastructure projects remains well established. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery, now Africa’s largest, is a testament to this legacy, although its commissioning was subject to repeated delays and cost overruns, ultimately exceeding its original budgetary projections.
Mr. Dangote also pledged that the African continent will achieve self-sufficiency in fertiliser production within the next 40 months, anchored by the planned expansion of his existing $2.5 billion fertiliser plant, located on the outskirts of Lagos.
Currently, Africa imports over six million metric tonnes of fertiliser annually, a dependency driven by persistent agricultural challenges. A successful increase in domestic production would not only address critical food security concerns but also significantly reduce foreign exchange outflows, which have placed sustained pressure on Nigeria’s already fragile currency.
Mr. Dangote concluded his remarks with the following commitment:
“In the next 40 months, Africa will not import fertiliser from anywhere. We have a very aggressive trajectory right now. We want to put Dangote to be the highest producer of urea, bigger and higher than Qatar – give me 40 months.”#newsafro_
