The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has restated plans to issue its Initial Public Offer (IPO) to investors very soon.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, reiterated the position of the national oil firm on Tuesday.
He spoke at the 22nd edition of the 2023 Nigeria Oil and Gas Energy conference and Exhibition in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the theme of the conference is: “Powering Nigeria’s Sustainable Energy Future.”
Kyari, while speaking on: “Redefining Nigeria’s Energy Landscape for a Sustainable Energy Future,” said the decision was based on the law.
He said: “As a Company that is guided under the regulations of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, the NNPC Limited will declare its shares to the public for acquisition very soon.
“We will pay taxes; we will pay royalties like anyone; we will also pay dividends to our shareholders, which many of you are. We are in business and business means competition.
“We are a private sector. Forget about the fact that we are owned by the government 100 per cent. You are also aware, we are going Initial Public Offer very soon. We will sell a part of our equity. It is in the law.
“And once that happens, we will not be any different for any of you and it will be a very different business environment.”
On subsidy removal, Kyari said it had ensured positive change in the sector by freeing up capital for powering the sustainable supply of energy.
He said: “Are we positioned to facilitate business? Yes, but our partnership produced over 80 per cent of the oil and gas in the country either directly or through our offstream company or through our partnership. I am in a position to facilitate business.
“On the PSC today, we are just agents of the state, trying to make sure we deliver value to them and then they will pay. I am sure you appreciate this new relationship. The PSCs are not on the balance sheet on the NNPCL.
“We make sure you do your work because when you do, we are compensated 40 per cent of your profit, so it is important for us as well as business for us.”
On energy poverty, the NNPCL boss said the focus was now to ensure that more people had access to energy.
Kyari said: “Over 30 per cent do not have access to electricity. So, is energy available or is it the problem of affordability. Or is it that we have an unsustainable situation or is it combination of all of them? I think we are dealing with the combination of all.”
According to Kyair, energy is not available; it is not affordable in definite sense.
He said this was due to many structures and issues that made affordability a matter of concern for everybody.
He added: “We supply gas, we do not get payment for it. We supply power and we do not get payment for it. So, you cannot run any business this way. You cannot be sustainable. You cannot create affordable energy and it will not be available.”
According to Kyari, affordability, accessibility and sustainability are the drivers of Nigeria’s energy future.
He said the key initiatives on the horizon for the NNPCL would include expanding gas infrastructure to deliver gas across West Africa and potentially Europe.
He further said expansion of liquefaction capacity of the NLNG and enabling availability of LPG as a cooking fuel and CNG as alternative fuel for automobiles were paramount.
Kyari reiterated the need to bridge the skilled manpower gap, ensure asset security and invest in infrastructure to transform challenges into opportunities.
NAN reports that the NOG Energy Week is Nigeria’s foremost international energy conference aimed at discussing policy implementation, vital energy agenda and investments, among others.
The ongoing event was attended by policymakers, regulators, leaders, stakeholders and partners of the industry.
Agency report
