Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), has disclosed that the Dangote Refinery plans to seek a listing on a US stock exchange after increasing its production capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day within the next two and a half years.
Dangote made the disclosure during an interview with CNN on Thursday, saying the expansion would position the facility as the largest refinery in the world and part of a major petrochemical complex.
“After we have gone to 1.4 million bpd in the next two and a half years, we will now list in the US and I believe a lot of other people too will join, because by that time, we’re going to be the biggest refinery ever in the history of the world, with a massive petrochemical complex,” he said.
“I think it is going to be something that people would definitely rush [to] buying.”
Dangote also described the refinery’s planned initial public offering (IPO) as a major development for Africa, saying he expects it to attract strong demand from investors.
He said the IPO would be the “biggest IPO ever in the history of Africa” and expressed confidence that the offer would be “massively oversubscribed”.
According to the billionaire, demand for shares in the refinery has already been overwhelming.
He explained that choosing to list the refinery initially on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) was aimed at creating an opportunity for Africans to own part of the business.
Dangote said the planned expansion to 1.4 million barrels per day would also significantly increase the refinery’s contribution to the global petroleum market, particularly in the supply of aviation fuel and diesel.
“We’ll be the biggest in terms of gas oil, which means diesel, to the world market,” Dangote added.
On his plan to establish a $15 billion refinery in Kenya, Dangote said his earlier decision never to build another refinery had changed after gaining extensive experience from constructing the Nigerian facility.
“I told you that, look, I will never, ever attempt to build a refinery again. But right now, to tell you the truth, I now understand how it is,” he said.
“We have the best team in the world to deliver. We have a team that is very solid. We’re used to delivering this.”
He explained that the experience gained from building and operating the Nigerian refinery had given Dangote Industries specialised knowledge that could be applied to future projects.
“This is something that we’re taking now as our own patent. I don’t believe, and I repeat, I don’t believe there’s any company today on earth that can deliver a 700,000 barrels per day refinery,” he said.
“We now have the techniques, we know how to do it, and we will deliver on schedule and cost.”
Dangote had earlier announced on September 7 that the refinery was expected to become the world’s largest by 2028 following the planned expansion.
Source: CNN
