Nigeria’s Dangote refinery has gone from losing money to posting a $4.73 billion profit in less than a year, just as it asks investors for $1.6 billion in what would be Africa’s largest IPO.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery reported net profit of $4.73 billion for the first nine months of 2026, reversing a $117.2 million loss during the same period last year.
Revenue more than doubled to $22.48 billion from $9.19 billion. EBITDA jumped to $5.52 billion from $627.6 million as the refinery processed more crude and captured higher refining margins.
The Iran war helped.
Disruptions to Middle Eastern refining and fuel exports sent product margins sharply higher this year, particularly for diesel and jet fuel. Dangote increased exports into those shortages, including jet fuel shipments to Western Europe.
The 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery generated $3.68 billion in operating cash flow through September, compared with $364.7 million a year earlier. Cash holdings reached $6.69 billion.
Its balance sheet has moved just as quickly. Dangote finished the period with $650.8 million in net cash after carrying $1.73 billion in net debt a year earlier.
Those numbers landed in the middle of the refinery’s IPO.
Dangote is seeking to raise $1.6 billion in an offering that values the refinery at roughly $47 billion. The subscription period, originally scheduled to close October 13, has been extended through October 27 after heavy investor demand overwhelmed some Nigerian investment platforms when the offering opened.
The money is earmarked partly for Dangote’s next expansion.
The company wants to double refining capacity to 1.4 million bpd by 2029, which would put the Lagos complex among the world’s largest refineries. Dangote has already increased capacity from its original 650,000 bpd and was running near 660,000 bpd earlier this year.
The refinery has also cut West Africa’s dependence on imported fuel, with Nigerian product exports increasingly displacing barrels that previously arrived from Europe, the Middle East and the United States.
A year ago, Dangote was still absorbing commissioning costs. Nine months into 2026, it has $4.73 billion in profit, $6.69 billion in cash, and investors lining up for a piece of it.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
