Disadvantages hidden under excitement

Sema Fonkem 19 September 2026

While the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE Initial Public Offering (IPO) which opened on September 14, 2026 sits at the top of capital markets performances, many individuals who are seeking to buy shares are carried away by very prices and not the exact details of what such an investment requires.

The offer scheduled to close on October 13, 2026, allows an investor to buy a minimum of ten shares priced at ₦525 each. The exact profit per share is not known because the refinery depends on the shifting of future operational capacities.

The share allotments have been made with an imagination of high profit and pushed using the refinery’s past performance and volatile profits of the first half of 2026, yielding approximately $1.82 billion.

Although the refinery is targeting 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029, the reality is that share value may be readjusted when operations begin. Investments may have to be forfeited since there is no guarantee on the contract, promising a refund if the refinery collapses due to natural causes or economic crisis.

It is understood that the IPO forms part of the refinery’s strategy to raise capital needed for expansion at the production stage. The risk of investing in the production stage is often higher than in the distribution of an already existing product.

Payment for application does not mean that requested shares will be allotted and a time frame for refunds has not been made public. This means that before any refunds are done, your money could still be used in the refinery’s projects while you don’t make any profit.

With current the cost of petrol in Nigeria currently at ₦1,350 per litre, the demand is high but this does not necessarily mean more profits for suppliers as individuals and companies are initiating plans on lower cost for the movement of goods and services. An example is the rental and construction of warehouses and storage facilities to reduce annual transportation cost.

With a very large number of people scrambling for a spot, shared profit may reduce drastically.

Individuals may invest an equal amount, but because shares are acquired from different financial platforms, investors with lower brokerage and bank transaction fees will gain more than those with higher cost incurred.