Aliko Dangote’s refinery unit is seeking to raise as much as $1 billion through a private sale of debt, as Africa’s richest man continues to expand one of the continent’s most ambitious energy projects.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE, operator of Africa’s largest crude-processing facility, is targeting foreign investors for the deal, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

The fundraising comes as the refinery strengthens output and attracts rising demand amid global energy market disruptions linked to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Buyers across Africa and beyond have increasingly turned to its products as alternative supply routes tighten.

The facility, which reached full production shortly before the escalation of conflict involving Iran, has recorded test runs of about 700,000 barrels per day, above its official 650,000 barrels per day capacity. It produces petrol, diesel, and jet fuel for Nigeria while exporting to markets across Africa, Europe, the United States, and Saudi Arabia.

Alongside the planned debt raise, the group is also pursuing a broader capital strategy, including a private share placement that reportedly drew up to $2 billion in investor demand, and longer-term plans for an initial public offering of the refinery unit.

The debt move follows a $750 million private placement for Dangote Fertiliser Ltd in April, marking the conglomerate’s first entry into international debt capital markets.

Dangote Industries, led by the billionaire with a net worth of about $36.5 billion, has set an investment target of at least $40 billion over the next five years. Expansion plans include scaling refinery capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028, which would make it the world’s second-largest refinery after India’s Jamnagar facility.

Beyond refining, the group is also exploring a deep-sea port in Nigeria, expansion of fertiliser output to 12 million tons annually by 2030, diversification into liquefied gas, and development of a 20,000-megawatt power plant.

Dangote is also considering additional refinery expansion in East Africa, including a potential 650,000-barrel-per-day facility, as part of efforts to reduce the continent’s reliance on imported petroleum products.