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Dangote Refinery is considering a listing on the London Stock Exchange as the Nigerian market may not be able to accommodate it on its own.
The Dangote refinery is planning to have a dual listing on the London and Lagos stock exchanges, according to Devakumar Edwin, a senior executive at the company who spoke to Reuters.
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest man and Chairman of the group, was quoted earlier in the day saying that he might consider listing the company in Nigeria before the end of the year.
This announcement comes about six months after Dangote mentioned his plans to publicly list the subsidiary of the Group, Dangote Petroleum Refinery, on the Nigerian Exchange Limited in an interview with the Financial Times.
Dangote had previously stated that the company had overcome challenges related to crude oil supply and was ready for the listing.
The billionaire entrepreneur already has several companies listed on the NGX, including Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar Refinery, and Nascon Allied Industries.
The refinery executives explained that they are considering approaching the London Stock Exchange because the Nigerian bourse may not have enough capacity to handle the listing on its own.
When asked about Dangote's remarks to local media, Edwin told Reuters: "We have listed all our businesses.
The NSE (Nigerian Stock Exchange) may not have enough capacity to exclusively handle the petroleum refinery. We may need to list it on the LSE (London Stock Exchange) as well as on the NSE."
The largest refinery in Africa, located on a peninsula near Lagos, was completed at a cost of $20 billion after facing several years of delays. With a capacity to refine up to 650,000 barrels per day, it is set to become the largest in Africa and Europe upon reaching full capacity this year or next.
Dangote, the owner of the refinery, has been working to secure crude supplies for the facility, while also having interests in other companies listed on the Nigerian stock exchange.
The company recently secured a supply deal with TotalEnergies for 2 million barrels of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Midland crude every month. Additionally, it has been refining diesel and jet fuel, with plans to start producing petrol in June.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) reported 310 cases of crude oil theft in the past week, with illegal fuel stations and refineries being uncovered in various states.
This includes the discovery of 122 illegal refineries in Bayelsa and Rivers states, as well as 65 illegal connections and vandalized wellheads in different locations.
