President Muhammadu Buhari has unveiled the new Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), a Landmark event that officiates the total transition of the oil firm from a state-manage entity to a commercial oil company. The unveiling took place at the presidential banquet hall in Abuja.
“We are transforming our petroleum industry to strengthen the growth today” Mr Buhari said.
According to him, NNPC Limited now will operate as a commercial oil company with over 200 million shareholders with integrity and excellence.
Transitioned into a commercial company, its operations will be regulated by the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). The legal transition, based on the new Petroleum Industry Act, took effect recently.
The NNPC completed its incorporation in September last year weeks after the PIA was signed into law by President Buhari.
The new entity is expected to become a commercially oriented and profit-driven national petroleum company independent of government, although government bodies remain its shareholders. It will be audited annually.
As a sign of history, Buhari revealed how privilege he was to lead the creation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in July 1, 1977. Forty-Four years later, he was again privileged to sign the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021, heralding the long-awaited reform of the petroleum sector.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said the unveiling of NNPC Limited was a new dawn in the quest for the growth and development of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, opening new vintages for partnerships.
“While the country was waiting for the PIA, Nigeria’s oil and gas industry lost about $50 billion worth of investments. In fact, between 2015 and 2019, KPMG states that “only 4% of the $70 billion investment inflows into Africa’s oil and gas industry came to Nigeria even though the country is the continent’s biggest producer and the largest reserves,”
“We are setting all these woes behind us, and a clear path for the survival and growth of our petroleum industry is now before us. With the PIA assuring international and local oil companies of adequate protection for their investments, the nation’s petroleum industry is no longer rudderless. And I have no doubt the leadership of this brand new Limited Liability Company is super-charged to meet the high expectations “Mr. Sylva added.
