Africa’s richest man, Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, plans to sell part of his mega oil refinery in a major business shift.
In a recent interview with S&P Global, Dangote revealed that the multi-billion-dollar refinery plans to sell between 5% and 10% of its stake on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) within the next year.
The plans also include increasing the refinery’s output to 1.4 million barrels per day, which could make it the world’s largest oil refinery by capacity.
Dangote said the state-run oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, could increase its stake in the refinery, currently at 7.2%.
The Dangote refinery, located in Lagos, began commercial production in 2024 after a decade of construction work costing $20 billion, with a capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The aim was to meet Nigeria’s domestic fuel needs and export some products, including petrol, diesel and jet fuel. The latest move, which entails selling some stakes to other investors, signals a shift in the refinery’s structure and operations.
Dangote said the sales will mirror the approach his company adopted for its cement and sugar production sections, allowing other investors to join his businesses. He added that the company doesn’t want to keep more than 65%-70% shares.
During his interview with S&P Global, Dangote also hinted at strategic partnerships with Middle Eastern companies as part of a broader plan to expand operations and develop a new petrochemicals project in China.
Since starting operations, the Dangote refinery has shaken up the Nigerian oil market and exported fuel to America and Asia.
However, it faced challenges, including a short supply of crude oil and disagreements with major players in the Nigerian oil industry.
It has also clashed with trade unions recently after sacking hundreds of employees over what it called "sabotage."
It later agreed to reabsorb the dismissed staff and redeploy them to other sections of the Dangote company.
