Chief executive officer (CEO), Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has emerged a big winner from the war between USA and Iran.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Dangote is reaping the benefits of building the $20 billion refinery.
The report said Dangote is reaping the benefits after going “through hell” while developing the project, which was plagued by a decade of delays and cost overruns that ultimately doubled its price tag.
“The huge refinery reached full capacity in February—just in time to supply the world with diesel, jet fuel and gasoline that doesn’t need to pass through the Strait of Hormuz,” the report reads.
“Surging demand for refined petroleum products has boosted Dangote’s wealth by some $4.86 billion since the start of the year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, bringing his net worth to about $34.8 billion.
“Dangote’s repeated bets on the rise of Africa’s middle class, from cement to sugar to salt, have helped the 69-year-old become the world’s 65th-wealthiest person.”
WSJ said the refinery’s output of petrol, diesel, and jet fuel has increased more than 70 percent so far this year.
Devakumar Edwin, group vice-president (GVP) at Dangote Industries, told WSJ that Dangote plans to take the refinery public on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) later this year, targeting a valuation of at least $50 billion.
WSJ said the refinery’s plans show how the energy shock fuelled by the Iran war is benefiting suppliers unaffected by the disruption in the Middle East.
“Rising demand for Nigeria’s crude and refined products has boosted the country’s wider economy, supporting its currency and limiting rising gasoline prices,” the publication said.
“The conflict has been a particular boon for Dangote, whose refinery is by far the largest in Africa.”
According to the report, the Dangote refinery began producing in 2024, “and the business has now been turbocharged by the war”.
