The full Dangote Refinery timeline — from 2013 construction to 2026's full-capacity milestone and th...

The Dangote Refinery IPO story is really two timelines: the years-long construction and ramp-up of the physical refinery, and the more recent, still-unfolding IPO process. Keeping them separate helps avoid confusion in the headlines.

The refinery project was first announced in 2013, according to industry reporting, as a privately funded Dangote Group investment.

Construction proceeded over the following decade on a site in the Lekki Free Zone, Lagos, with the project’s budget rising over time from early estimates to a figure commonly cited around $19–20 billion. In 2021, Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council approved state-owned NNPC’s acquisition of a 20% equity stake in the project.

The refinery was officially commissioned on May 22, 2023.

Full commercial operations then ramped up gradually: public reporting indicates the plant began processing crude oil in January 2024, and began producing petrol (PMS) in September 2024.

In February 2026, the company announced it had reached its full designed capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, describing it as a milestone few single-train refineries of this scale achieve.

In October 2025, ahead of that milestone, Dangote had also announced longer-term plans to expand capacity to a reported 1.4 million barrels per day.

The IPO timeline is much shorter and more recent. Through mid-2026, Aliko Dangote made public statements about intending to launch an IPO, and market chatter grew — enough that Nigeria’s SEC issued a warning in June 2026 against unauthorized parties soliciting advance subscriptions before any formal application had been filed.

That changed in late July/early August 2026, when Dangote Petroleum Refinery formally filed its IPO application with the SEC. As of this writing, the company is targeting a September 2026 listing, though the SEC has said no date has been formally approved yet.

Put together, the timeline shows a decade-long industrial build finally reaching operational maturity, followed by a compressed, still-in-progress push toward a public listing.

Investors should treat the construction and operational milestones as established fact, and the IPO milestones as a live, developing process to keep monitoring.

How to participate in the Dangote IPO with Daba

The Dangote IPO has not yet been priced, allocated or opened for subscription.

When the official subscription window opens, Daba will facilitate participation for its eligible account-holders internationally, through Daba’s compliant Nigerian-market channel operated in partnership with a licensed Nigerian securities broker. The executing partner is a SEC-Nigeria-licensed capital-market operator and NGX dealing member.

If you would like to be positioned to participate when the window opens, we suggest the following five steps.

None of these steps commits you to invest.

1. Create your Daba account. Create a Daba account at dabafinance.com/register — takes a few minutes.

2. Pick individual or business. Choose whether to onboard as an individual or as a business / entity (trust, personal investment company, family investment vehicle). Both are supported. Business onboarding is somewhat more document-intensive but the access, execution and repatriation mechanics are identical.

3. Complete KYC (and KYB for businesses). Provide the documents requested by Daba’s onboarding flow. This is a one-time step that unlocks access to every product on the Daba platform, not just the Dangote IPO.

4. Check the rules in your own jurisdiction. Participation in a foreign securities offering may be subject to the rules of your own country of residence — including registration, tax and reporting obligations. You are responsible for understanding and complying with those rules. If in doubt, consult a qualified adviser in your jurisdiction. Daba does not provide tax, legal or investment advice.

5. Express your interest via the Daba interest form. Once your account is KYC-approved, complete the Dangote IPO interest form on the Daba platform. Expressing interest is not an application to subscribe; it lets Daba notify you the moment the official subscription window opens, with the prospectus-approved terms, minimum lot, funding instructions and application deadline. When notified, you will be able to fund your Daba account and submit a subscription application through the Daba platform, subject to Daba’s onboarding checks and to allocation by the issuer’s appointed bookrunners.

Daba does not guarantee allocation. Allocation is determined by the issuer and its appointed bookrunners under the terms of the SEC-Nigeria-approved prospectus. Nothing on this page constitutes an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy or a recommendation to invest in any security.

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DISCLAIMER

This article is published for informational and educational purposes only. It is not, and does not contain, an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, and it is not, and does not contain, investment advice, tax advice or a personal recommendation.

Any future participation in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals IPO referenced in this hub is subject to (i) the terms of the issuer’s official SEC-Nigeria-approved prospectus, once and if published; (ii) allocation processes conducted by the Nigerian Exchange, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission and the issuer’s appointed bookrunners — Daba does not determine or guarantee allocation; (iii) the eligibility of the investor under the laws applicable to that investor in the investor’s country of residence, which the investor is responsible for verifying; and (iv) Daba’s onboarding, KYC and CCI (Certificate of Capital Importation) requirements.

Daba will facilitate participation for its eligible account-holders internationally through a partnership with a SEC Nigeria- licensed capital-market operator and NGX dealing member. Investment in securities involves risk, including risk of loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results.