The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, has announced the company’s intention to be listed on the stock exchange by 2028.
He made this known while speaking at the 9th Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, International Seminar in Vienna, Austria.
Ojulari, speaking before an audience of international energy leaders, OPEC ministers, oil executives, and global investors, confirmed the plan in a video shared on the company’s official X handle on Friday.
“As I mentioned earlier, we have a roadmap to be listed by 2028,”
“Nigeria has been undergoing a transformational journey since the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act.
The PIA has reset and brought stabilisation to the energy industry, particularly oil and gas in Nigeria. It gives us the roadmap and allows us to monitor our progress,” he stated.
Describing the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, as a bold legislative achievement, Ojulari said it has started yielding results by attracting investors, strengthening partnerships, and offering clarity across the oil and gas value chain.
“The undertaking of passing such a law would be difficult anywhere in the world, and it takes time to implement, especially for national oil companies. But it takes the collaboration of industry players and our regulatory bodies to achieve the greatness we want,” he noted.
He also praised the newly reconstituted board of the company, calling them a group of “consummate professionals and global leaders who have worked across international companies and the private sector,” while crediting President Bola Tinubu’s vision for restructuring the national oil firm into a globally competitive entity.
“With the collaboration of our industry players, we would be the catalyst in the transformation of the national oil company to a limited liability company,” he added.
Highlighting recent reforms, Ojulari stated that the company had enhanced security and stability to boost investor confidence.
“We have done quite a lot in terms of providing stability, ensuring that when you do business in Nigeria, your business is secured. That has been quite an undertaking,” he said.
He emphasized that NNPCL is committed to transparency and best global practices.
“We would also ensure that the new NNPC provides the prudence and leadership that is of international repute, and we would continue to learn from all of you as we reposition NNPC.”
At a related event during the Nigerian Oil and Gas Energy Week, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Adedapo Segun, confirmed that a corporate governance restructuring was ongoing to prepare NNPCL for an Initial Public Offering, IPO. He stressed the importance of a cultural overhaul within the organization to align with the expectations of a publicly traded company.
“We are also working on our corporate governance, we are working on our processes, and we are working on creating an environment that will support our IPO aspirations. You can see the corporate governance is done in some bits. We have a part now that is IPO ready. We have management that is IPO ready. We need to build an organisation that is IPO ready,” Segun explained.
NNPCL was officially incorporated as a limited liability company in July 2022 under the PIA. Since then, it has operated as a commercial enterprise, shifting from its former identity as a government parastatal.
Previous IPO attempts in 2018 and 2023 did not succeed. Under Emmanuel Kachikwu, then Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, initial discussions were held in 2018, while another move in 2023 also stalled.
Industry observers argue that a successful listing will depend on improved transparency, especially with the company’s yet-to-be-published audited accounts for 2024 and historical involvement in fuel subsidies.
On energy transition, Ojulari reaffirmed that Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan African nations were investing heavily in local infrastructure to curb energy poverty and enhance security.
“Nigeria and other sub-Saharan countries are embarking on aggressive in-country infrastructure development, refining, pipelines, and gas-based industries, to solve our energy deficiency problem. These are significant investment opportunities for all of us,” he said.
He also restated Nigeria’s production ambitions, revealing plans to raise crude oil production to at least three million barrels per day and gas output to 12 billion cubic feet per day.
“We have a clear roadmap to achieve that and we would continue to share that. Our oil and gas policies would dramatically improve and further increase our production,” Ojulari said.
In closing, he extended an open invitation to international investors:
“I want to put our commitment to the test.
“I would like to invite you to the new NNPC Ltd. and the new Nigeria. We will show you with action, not words, that Nigeria and NNPC Ltd. are truly ready for business.”
