Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery plans to invest $14.3bn to double processing capacity to 1.4mn barrels per day (bpd) by 2029 as it moves ahead with an initial public offering expected to be Africa’s largest ever.

The privately held refinery signed offering documents with advisers and other transaction parties in Lagos on September 7. Its IPO prospectus sets out the expansion from a current crude-processing capacity of 700,000 bpd, 50,000 bpd above its original nameplate capacity.

The company plans to offer 4.1bn ordinary shares at NGN525 each, raising about NGN2.15 trillion ($1.63bn) if fully subscribed. Reuters reported that subscriptions are scheduled to run from September 14 to October 13, with trading potentially beginning in late November.

The offer includes an option to issue up to 30% more shares in the event of excess demand, subject to regulatory approval.

The refinery has secured a $400mn underwriting commitment for the IPO as part of a wider $1bn programme structured by Dubai-based advisory firm Marob Strategies and Consulting and Washington-based investment group Lilium Capital. The commitment, provided through Lilium subsidiary Pan-African Refinery Investment SPV, is equivalent to roughly 25% of the $1.63bn base offer.

The $400mn commitment is due to be implemented when the offer launches, subject to market conditions, corporate and regulatory approvals and applicable securities laws, and therefore does not represent proceeds already received. The $1bn programme also included a completed and fully funded $600mn private placement.

Reuters reported in August, citing a source familiar with the matter, that the refinery had submitted an application to Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission for a $5bn IPO, although the final size had not then been determined. The smaller approved offer may be easier for the market to absorb, while increasing the focus on valuation.

At $1.63bn, the base IPO would raise an amount equal to about 11% of the stated $14.3bn expansion cost, although the proceeds are not necessarily earmarked solely for the expansion.

Aliko Dangote, founder of Nigerian industrial conglomerate Dangote Group and majority shareholder in the refinery, has said the company has other funding options, including cash generation, bonds and private placements, and that broadening African ownership is a central objective of the offering.

At the NGN525 offer price, the refinery’s 120.13bn existing registered shares imply a pre-IPO equity valuation of about $47bn. Including the 4.1bn new shares in the base offer would increase the implied post-IPO market capitalisation to roughly $49bn if the offer is fully subscribed, before any additional shares issued under the up-to-30% overallotment option.

The IPO prospectus showed an after-tax profit of $1.82bn in the first half of 2026, compared with a $476mn loss for the whole of 2025, according to Reuters.

The $20bn refinery, which began operations in 2024, has reduced Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuels while exporting products including jet fuel and diesel elsewhere in Africa and Europe.

Chief executive David Bird told Reuters on September 8 that the expansion would add petrochemical and refining units, increase import substitution and allow the refinery to produce different specifications of diesel.

Separately, Aliko Dangote said United Arab Emirates state oil company ADNOC had expressed interest in investing in the refinery alongside other potential partners, although he gave no details, citing confidentiality agreements.

ADNOC is in talks to invest in refining businesses in Thailand and Nigeria as it seeks to secure outlets for crude and expand its international fuel-trading operations, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the discussions.