Dangote Plans to Offer Shares on Multiple African Exchanges for 650,000 Bpd Refinery

• Appoints IBTC Capital, Vetiva Advisory, FirstCap as advisers 

•NUPRC moves to ensure standardisation in upstream emission inventories

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Kayode Tokede

Aliko Dangote plans to offer shares in his oil-refining company on multiple African stock exchanges, according to the head of the Nairobi Securities Exchange Plc.

Dangote appointed Stanbic IBTC Capital Ltd., Vetiva Advisory Services Ltd. and FirstCap Ltd. to advise on the IPO for Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Fze, FirstCap Chief Executive Officer Ukandu Ukandu said by email.

“The plan is to structure a pan-African IPO,” Frank Mwiti, CEO of the Nairobi exchange said after a meeting last week between the heads of African exchanges and billionaire Dangote in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, a Bloomberg report said.

A spokesman for the Dangote Group confirmed the meeting between exchange officials to Bloomberg, but declined to disclose details.

The share sale across multiple African exchanges would be a first for the continent. It will help deepen equity markets in Nigeria — which is poised to return to the FTSE Russell frontier-markets benchmark — and other nations where it lists.

Dangote plans to expand the refinery’s capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day over the next three years, rivaling fellow billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s facility in India, the report added.

Dangote’s refinery currently has the capacity to process 650,000 barrels of oil per day. The African Export-Import Bank last month said it’s underwritten $2.5 billion of a $4 billion syndicated facility intended for the refinery expansion.

The facility’s expansion is part of at least $40 billion that Dangote plans to spend to fund a growth drive over the next five years that also includes quadrupling fertilizer output and more than doubling its oil refinery capacity.

Apart from Nigeria, the plant has been selling refined fuel to African nations, which are struggling to obtain petrol and diesel supplies because of the US-Israel war on Iran.

Dangote, the chairman of the refinery, earlier this month met with officials of the Nigerian Exchange Group as well as member organisations of the African Securities Exchanges Association to discuss enabling investor participation across African markets in the IPO, according to a spokesman for the Nigerian exchange.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has directed upstream oil and gas operators to adopt standardised reporting templates and transition to measurement-based systems for methane and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, as part of efforts to strengthen transparency and align with Nigeria’s climate commitments.

In a policy directive issued by the Commission Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, the regulator said operators must institutionalise credible Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) practices for emissions inventories, in line with the 2022 Guidelines for the Management of Methane and Greenhouse Gases in the upstream sector.

The directive comes amid growing global pressure on fossil fuel producers to demonstrate concrete action toward limiting warming to 1.5°C, particularly through the reduction of methane emissions, a highly potent greenhouse gas.

NUPRC noted that since 2022, operators have been required to quantify emissions using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Tier 1 methodology, with a structured transition to more advanced approaches. Under the new directive, companies are to adopt, at a minimum, Tier 2 methodologies by the third quarter of 2026 and migrate fully to Tier 3—or equivalent high-level measurement-based systems—by January 2027.

While reaffirming the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) framework as the baseline for reporting under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the commission said operators may continue to align with other recognised standards such as OGMP 2.0, API and ISO, provided submissions meet its requirements.

According to the regulator, the move follows observed technical capacity constraints and gaps in MRV infrastructure across the industry. It disclosed that targeted workshops and guidance sessions had been convened to support operators in building the capacity required for the transition.

The commission stressed that Nigeria’s climate targets, including net-zero emissions by 2060, zero routine gas flaring by 2030, and a 60 per cent reduction in methane emissions by 2035, necessitate a robust, science-based and verifiable emissions accounting system.

To ensure uniformity, operators are now required to adopt prescribed templates covering Greenhouse Gas Emissions Management Plans (GHGEMP) and detailed methane and GHG emissions inventories. All submissions, which take immediate effect, must be evidence-based, transparent and compliant with MRV principles, the commission said.

NUPRC added that the reforms are intended to deepen accountability, enhance Nigeria’s credibility in global energy and carbon markets, and position the upstream sector to attract climate-aligned investment.

The commission reiterated its commitment to supporting the industry through continued capacity building, technical guidance and the deployment of enabling MRV infrastructure.

“Accordingly, to ensure standardisation in the upstream MRV and emission inventories, operators shall adopt and comply with the guidance templates for: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Management Plan (GHGEMP); and Reporting of Methane and GHG Emissions Accounting and Inventories.

“All submissions to the Commission which shall take effect immediately, shall follow the templates published on the NUPRC website and be verifiable, transparent, and evidence-driven in line with MRV principles.

“These measures are designed to entrench accountability, strengthen Nigeria’s credibility in global markets, and unlock climate-smart investors for the upstream sector,” the commission stated.