Dangote Petroleum Refinery is preparing for an initial public offering expected in October, with management saying the exercise is designed primarily to give Nigerian investors an opportunity to participate in the growth of the business.
Chief Executive Officer David Bird said the refinery wanted broad local participation and was not currently prioritising an overseas listing.
The company has submitted an application to the Securities and Exchange Commission for an offering that could be worth as much as $5 billion, although the final size has not yet been determined.
Bird said management wanted to establish at least three years of operating and financial performance before considering a foreign listing.
London has been mentioned as one possible future market, but management said any such move remained several years away.
The refinery recently completed a private placement that reportedly raised about $2.5 billion and valued the business at roughly $40 billion.
Africa Finance Corporation said it led a group of strategic investors in the transaction and that demand substantially exceeded the shares available.
Dangote Refinery has expanded its role in regional and international fuel supply and has benefited from tighter product markets linked to disruptions in global energy trade.
Bird said the company had become a major supplier of jet fuel into Africa and Europe.
Management is also planning to double refining capacity to about 1.4 million barrels per day within three years.
The expansion is expected to be financed through a combination of proceeds from the planned public offering and debt.
Bird said the project should cost substantially less than the amount spent on building the original refinery.
He argued that Africa’s continuing shortage of refined fuels and petrochemicals created significant room for growth.
The refinery currently supplies a large share of Nigeria’s petrol and diesel requirements and all of the country’s jet fuel demand, according to management.
