The long-awaited initial public offering of Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery is scheduled to open on September 14, in a major capital-market transaction that could become Africa’s largest IPO.

The refinery is expected to offer about 4.1 billion shares, with sources familiar with the transaction telling Reuters that the shares could be priced between N500 and N595 each. One source put the price under consideration at N525 per share, which would value the initial fundraising at about $1.5 billion. At the upper end of the reported price range, the offer could raise between $1.55 billion and $1.8 billion.

The company has also been reported to have a 15 per cent green-shoe option, which could allow it to raise additional funds if the offering is oversubscribed. Dangote Refinery declined to comment on the specific terms of the offer when contacted by Reuters.

Expansion Drives Fundraising

The planned share sale is expected to help finance an ambitious expansion of the Lagos-based refinery.

The Dangote Group intends to increase the refinery’s capacity from its current 650,000 barrels per day to about 1.4 million barrels per day. The refinery reached its full nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day in February and has also tested production at up to 700,000 barrels per day.

The planned IPO represents a significant step for the refinery, which has become one of Nigeria’s most important industrial projects since beginning operations.

For the Nigerian capital market, the offering could also be a landmark transaction, potentially giving a wider range of investors the opportunity to own shares in one of the country’s biggest private-sector industrial assets.

The IPO comes after months of preparations and regulatory developments surrounding the proposed listing. In June, the Securities and Exchange Commission warned investors against unauthorised promotions of a purported Dangote Refinery share offering, stressing at the time that no IPO application had been approved. The regulator urged the public to rely on formal announcements and approved offer documents.

The latest announcement of a September 14 opening therefore marks a significant development in the process.

Beyond the capital-market implications, the planned expansion could have wider consequences for Nigeria’s petroleum industry. A refinery operating at 1.4 million barrels per day would have substantially greater capacity to process crude oil and supply refined petroleum products to the domestic and regional markets.

Nigeria has traditionally depended heavily on imported refined petroleum products despite being a major crude oil producer. The growth of domestic refining capacity is consequently being closely watched for its potential impact on fuel supply, imports and the country’s energy trade.

The proposed IPO will also test investor appetite for one of Africa’s largest industrial projects. If successfully completed, it could become a major milestone not only for Dangote Industries but also for Nigeria’s efforts to deepen its capital market and attract more domestic investment into large-scale businesses.

For investors and the wider public, attention will now turn to the formal offer documents, regulatory approvals and final terms ahead of the September 14 opening.