Aliko Dangote, founder of Dangote Group, has revealed plans to sell a minority stake in his multi-billion-dollar refinery as part of a plan to double its capacity, transforming it into the world’s largest refining complex.

Speaking in an interview with S&P Global, Dangote said the move will mirror the approach adopted for Dangote Cement and Dangote Sugar Refinery – the same sentiment shared at BusinessDay’s 17th CEO Forum in July.

The founder said that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery plans to sell 5 percent to 10 percent of its stake on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited within the next year.

“We don’t want to keep more than 65 percent–70 percent,” Dangote said. According to him, the shares would be offered gradually, depending on investor appetite and market depth.

The billionaire added that the group is exploring strategic partnerships with Middle Eastern firms to help finance the refinery’s expansion and a new petrochemicals venture in China.

“We have to build the refinery again, either here or somewhere else. But really, somewhere else is not possible because we’d have to go and spend so much building infrastructure, and we have the infrastructure already here,” Dangote said in an exclusive interview with Platts.

Initially designed with room for growth, the refinery, already boasting the world’s largest crude distillation unit and a custom-built port, is set to increase its capacity from 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 700,000 bpd by the end of the year.

The new goal, however, is to double production to 1.4 million bpd, surpassing Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar refinery in India, currently the world’s largest at 1.36 million bpd. Engineers at the Lekki complex said the expansion could involve constructing a second refinery with a similar configuration, potentially adding a vacuum distillation unit to enhance yields.