RismadarVoice Reporters
September 7, 2026
President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has confirmed that the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), some governments and other strategic investors have expressed interest in acquiring stakes in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Mr Dangote, however, declined to disclose specific details of the prospective investments, citing non-disclosure agreements with the interested parties.
He spoke with journalists in Lagos on Monday after an event related to the refinery’s planned share offering.
Mr Dangote was asked to confirm reports that ADNOC was considering an investment in the refinery and whether other strategic investors were also interested.
He responded that the company had agreements with several parties but could not provide further details because of confidentiality obligations.
“I don’t want to,o you know, there is what you call an NDA, you know, non-disclosure agreement. So, we have agreements with other people; it’s not only ADNOC, other people too. They are very, very interested,” he said.
“There are other governments too; they have invested, and they are also investing more money,” he added.
The businessman said the level of investor interest in the refinery had exceeded the company’s expectations.
He recalled that during an earlier private offer, the company sought to raise $1 billion but received demand worth about $3.7 billion.
According to him, the company eventually accepted $2.5 billion and returned approximately $1.2 billion to investors.
“So, the investment really, like what I said, it is actually shocking to us how people are very, very interested in investing in this refinery,” Mr Dangote said.
He expressed confidence that the current offer could attract even greater demand once opened to a wider pool of investors.
“I’m sure if we are to open for two days and close, the number of shares we want to sell will be all sold out,” he said.
Refinery outlook not based on Middle East crisis
Mr Dangote also dismissed suggestions that the refinery’s share offering was driven by the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
He said the company’s financial projections were based on normal market conditions that existed before the current crisis.
“The refinery, based on the numbers that we have that have actually come into the market, this IPO we started a long time ago, so it did not start because of the war in the Middle East,” he said.
According to him, the company assessed how much revenue the refinery could generate under normal operating conditions before deciding to invite additional investors.
Mr Dangote said the company would not build its long-term business strategy around temporary geopolitical disruptions.
“Middle Eastern crisis, the crisis of Ukraine-Russia, it’s not going to go on forever; it will stop one day. So, you cannot base your business based on that,” he said.
He described the refinery as a long-term investment expected to operate for several decades.
“This is a lifetime investment. This refinery is not about 10 years, 20, 30, or 50 years; it will actually outlive the whole of us here,” he said.
Mr Dangote also clarified that the planned initial public offering (IPO) was not primarily intended to raise funds for the refinery.
Instead, he said the objective was to give more Africans an opportunity to own shares in the business.
He explained that the refinery currently generates strong free cash flow and that the group had already raised substantial capital through bonds and private placements.
“We are not really about raising funds. We have very good free cash flow in the company, and we have raised quite a lot of money,” he said.
Mr Dangote said the company was targeting up to 10 million shareholders across Africa and other parts of the world.
He said the offering would allow both small and large investors to participate, regardless of the size of their investment.
“It doesn’t matter; if you can afford ten shares, you buy ten. If you can afford one million, you can buy one million. But we want to get as many Africans as possible,” he said.
He added that the company could have offered a larger stake if raising capital had been the sole objective.
“If we want to raise money, we know how to raise it. And that’s why we have a limit. If not, we would have actually offered 20 per cent of the company,” he said.
Mr Dangote said broadening ownership of the refinery was also part of his vision of creating long-term wealth and leaving a legacy beyond the founders of the business.
He encouraged Nigerians and other Africans to see the investment as an opportunity to build wealth for themselves and future generations.
The billionaire businessman said he hoped the investment would produce wealth for ordinary shareholders in the way early investors in major global companies have benefited from their growth.
“I want it to be like the likes of this Amazon and co., where somebody will buy a share worth $10,00;, after a couple of years, it’s going to be worth millions,” he said.
He added that the Dangote Group was also developing other major businesses, including its fertiliser operations, and wanted Africans to participate in their growth.
Mr Dangote further said expanding African ownership of major industrial ventures would support the continent’s industrialisation.
“We want to process; we want to industrialise Africa, and by industrialising Africa, it must be done by we, the Africans, not by any other party,” he said.
