Dangote Refinery cuts debt to $3.65B ahead of Africa’s largest-ever IPO

Africa’s largest oil refinery has been quietly turning itself into a debt-repayment machine. Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, the 650,000-barrel-per-day behemoth on the outskirts of Lagos, slashed its outstanding debt by $570 million in a recent paydown, bringing total borrowings down to roughly $3.65 billion from a peak north of $9 billion.

That cleanup is no accident. The refinery is gearing up for what will be the continent’s biggest-ever share offering, a deal that could raise as much as $2.1 billion if overallotment options are exercised.

The numbers behind the offering

Dangote plans to sell 4.1 billion ordinary shares at a price of 525 Nigerian naira each, translating to a base raise of approximately $1.63 billion. With demand-driven expansion of up to 30%, the total could stretch to around $2.1 billion.

At those figures, the IPO would value the refinery at somewhere in the range of $47 billion to $50 billion.

The subscription window opens on September 14, 2026, and closes on October 13, with a minimum buy-in of just 10 shares. Listing is expected by November.

A refinery that actually makes money

During the first half of 2026, Dangote Petroleum posted revenue of 19.13 trillion naira, roughly $13.91 billion. That represents a 121% year-over-year increase. After-tax profit landed at $1.82 billion for the same period. The facility has been running at capacity levels that occasionally exceed its nameplate rating during production tests.

The debt trajectory tells its own story. Cutting borrowings from over $9 billion to $3.65 billion required consistent repayments and refinancings, funded largely by operating cash flow rather than fresh equity.

Doubling down, literally

Dangote has outlined plans to double refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029, a project carrying an estimated price tag of $14.3 billion.

The IPO proceeds are intended to support this expansion, alongside continued debt reduction.

Nigeria has historically imported the vast majority of its refined petroleum products despite being one of Africa’s top crude producers. Dangote’s refinery was built explicitly to break that cycle, and the refinery’s 121% revenue jump in six months indicates it is capturing market share from imported fuel suppliers.

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