According to Bayo Ojulari, the group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the company has set 2028 as the target year for its stock exchange listing.
Ojulari said the action is a part of a larger plan to turn the national oil company into a commercially competitive energy company while speaking at the 9th OPEC International Seminar in Vienna.
During an address that was caught on camera and uploaded to the company’s official X handle on Friday, Ojulari verified the timeline. “As I mentioned earlier, we have a roadmap to be listed by 2028,” he told an audience of energy leaders, ministers, and investors.
He said that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), a piece of legislation that has given Nigeria’s energy sector stability and structure, was responsible for the planned listing. “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.
Effective cooperation between industry participants and regulators has been essential to the reforms thus far, Ojulari said, while acknowledging the difficulties in implementing such legislative changes. He went on to say, “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”
The newly appointed directors have international exposure and experience in the private sector, the GCEO added, pointing to recent changes in leadership within NNPCL’s board. Their appointments, he said, were in line with President Bola Tinubu’s plans to restructure the national oil company.
Ojulari stated that the organization is currently striving to boost investor trust by means of better operational stability, transparency, and governance.
He claimed, “we have done quite a lot in terms of providing stability, ensuring that when you do business in Nigeria, your business is secured” He reaffirmed that all strategic alternatives, including aspects of privatization, are still available.
In a previous interview, Ojulari said, “Sale is not out of the question. All the options are on the table, to be frank, but that decision will be based on the outcome of the reviews we’re doing now”
Adedapo Segun, the chief financial officer of NNPCL, had previously stated during Nigerian Oil and Gas Energy Week that the company is going through a reorganization process to conform to the standards of a publicly traded company.
Segun said that efforts are being made to create an operational framework and governance culture that are appropriate for an IPO.
“We are working on our corporate governance, our processes, and creating an environment that will support our IPO aspirations. We have management that is IPO ready. We need to build an organisation that is IPO ready”, Segun stated.
