By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigerians may soon have the opportunity to be part owners of the state-owned oil agency, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
This is because the company is planning to list 40 percent of its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
However, this will only happen when President Muhammadu Buhari finally signs the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) into law.
Speaking on Thursday at the 2018 annual conference of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC), Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr Maikanti Baru, said the corporation was considering listing on the local exchange.
Mr Baru, who in his keynote address titled ‘PIGB: Emerging Issues and Concerns,’ highlighted the key thrusts of the PIGB including making the national oil company commercially driven hence the need to raise money from the stock market.
Represented by the Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Mr Rowland Ewubare, the GMD said, “The PIGB is focused on the key governing institutions in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and aims to separate the Regulatory, Policy and Commercial roles of public sector agencies and allocate respective roles to agency to properly positioned to perform them.
“For the NNPC, the PIGB requires the minister to within six months after its enactment, take such steps as are necessary under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) to incorporate the two entities – the Nigerian Petroleum Assets Management Company (NPAMC) and the Nigerian Petroleum Company (NPC) as companies limited by shares which will be vested with certain liabilities and assets of the NNPC.
“The NPC shall be an integrated oil and gas company operating as a fully commercial entity across the value chain. Essentially, it shall be responsible for all assets currently held by NNPC except the production sharing contracts (PSCs). The NPC shall be a limited liability company registered under CAMA.
“The initial shares shall be held by the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated (40 percent), the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (40 percent) and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (20 percent).
“However, 10 percent and an additional 30 percent of the shares of the company shall be floated on the Nigerian Stock Exchange between five years and 10 years from incorporation respectively.”
Mr Baru said the power of issuance, modification, amendment, extension, suspension, review, cancellation and reissuance, revocation and/or termination of award licenses/leases has been transferred to the commission in line with the new global trend, adding the PIGB has provided a legal framework and expanded role for the Department of Petroleum Resources.
Also the Chairman of the conference, Deputy Managing Director, Deepwater District, Total E&P Nigeria limited, Mr. Ahmadu-Kida Musa, assured that the company will by the last quarter of this year add 200,000 barrels of oil per day to the nation’s oil production.
Additional information from The Nation.
Adedapo Adesanya