LAGOS, Nigeria — Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals reduced its debt by $570 million during the first half of 2026.
The reduction came as the refinery increased production and prepared to sell shares to the public.
The company’s total debt declined from $6.24 billion at the end of December 2025 to $5.67 billion at the end of June, according to its initial public offering prospectus.
At an exchange rate of ₦1,400 to the dollar, the outstanding debt is approximately ₦7.9 trillion, while the reduction is equivalent to about ₦798 billion.
The prospectus attributed the change to stronger sales, refining margins and cash generation as the 700,000-barrel-a-day facility entered full commercial operations.
Dangote Refinery’s ratio of net debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation was 0.27 at the end of June.
The company expects the ratio to decline further as production stabilises and operating cash flow improves.
The proposed initial public offering is scheduled to open on Monday, September 14, 2026. Dangote Refinery plans to issue 4.1 billion new ordinary shares priced at ₦525 each.
Dangote to Retain Control
Aliko Dangote will remain the controlling shareholder if the offer is fully subscribed, with his beneficial interest expected to decline from 87.27 per cent to 84.34 per cent.
His current holdings are distributed through Dangote Oil Refining Company Limited, Dangote Industries Limited, Greenview International Corporation and a beneficial interest in Salamad Ventures Limited.
The refinery has 120.13 billion issued and fully paid ordinary shares. Dangote Oil Refining Company holds 65.835 per cent, while Dangote Industries owns 14.904 per cent and Greenview controls 6.496 per cent.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited holds 6.815 per cent, with the remaining shareholders accounting for 5.950 per cent.
Because the offering consists of newly issued shares rather than the sale of existing holdings, Dangote’s control will be diluted only slightly. NNPC Limited’s interest is expected to fall to approximately 6.59 per cent.
Speaking after an IPO-related signing event in Lagos, Dangote said the offering was intended to expand public participation in the refinery rather than provide urgently needed financing. He said the company was generating substantial cash and had previously raised money through bonds and private placements.
Dangote also said strategic investors, including Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, had expressed interest in the refinery.
He declined to disclose further information, citing confidentiality agreements.
Refinery Adjusts to Fuel-Market Disruption
David Bird, chief executive of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, said the facility was operating at its full capacity of 700,000 barrels a day.
The refinery has increased diesel and aviation-fuel production for Europe as the conflict between the United States and Iran disrupts supplies from the Middle East.
“Right now we’re very much maximising our diesel, but the jet is still extremely significant from a yield perspective,” Bird said.
Bloomberg reported that the premium commanded by diesel over crude oil had risen to its highest level in at least 15 years.
Bird said the refinery could alter its product mix in response to changes in prices and demand.
He said the company remained “extremely bullish” about refining margins over the medium term, although an extended conflict involving Iran could eventually weaken demand and produce broader economic consequences.
Dangote said the company’s long-term projections did not rely on the unusually high margins arising from the conflict.
“Our own basis of calculation is based on normal days,” he said, adding that preparations for the share offering began before the latest disruption in the Middle East.
Brent crude briefly exceeded $100 a barrel on Wednesday before falling below that level. West Texas Intermediate traded at about $95, while Brent remained approximately 40 per cent above its prewar price but below an earlier peak of about $120.
The increase followed an announcement by the United States military that it had destroyed five Iranian oil tankers after Iranian forces attempted to attack a Navy warship with ballistic missiles.
Iran later fired missiles towards United States targets in Jordan. Jordan’s military said its air-defence systems intercepted 18 missiles and that two others landed in uninhabited areas without causing casualties.
The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the disruption because approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies passed through the waterway before the conflict.
Crude Supply Questions Confront Kenya Project
Dangote Industries is separately preparing to begin construction of another 700,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Lamu, Kenya.
The project is expected to cost between $15 billion and $16 billion, with completion targeted for 2030.
The company initially considered Tanzania before examining Mombasa and eventually selecting a site in the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport special economic zone.
The proposed refinery could face difficulties obtaining sufficient crude because Kenya has yet to establish commercial-scale oil production, according to Reuters.
Devakumar Edwin, executive vice-president of Dangote Industries, said the company had not identified any regulatory, financing or feedstock obstacle that it could not overcome.
An economic adviser to Kenyan President William Ruto has said as much as 600,000 barrels of crude a day could be obtained from Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan.
Each potential source, however, faces logistical constraints.
Uganda’s crude is being directed towards Tanzania through the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, while South Sudan’s exports pass through Sudan and have been disrupted by insecurity.
A proposed pipeline connecting South Sudan and Kenya’s Lokichar Basin to Lamu has not been completed.
Lamu also lacks operational oil-storage terminals.
The wider transport project envisages storage capacity of between one million and 1.5 million barrels, along with facilities capable of receiving Suezmax vessels, but much of that infrastructure remains unbuilt.
The proposed location is about 10 kilometres from Lamu Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Greenpeace Africa has called for the project to be stopped, citing possible damage to marine environments and surrounding habitats.
Kenyan authorities say the refinery could reduce the country’s reliance on imported petroleum products, which cost approximately $4 billion in 2025 and represented its largest category of imports.
