The Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has said the company is 80 percent ready for an Initial Public Offer (IPO).
Kyari, who made the disclosure while addressing the Adipec Audience, said the company transitioned to a fully commercial model in 2021, insisting that it must perform better than its peers in the private sector.
He stated that while the company targets a gradual transformation from being state-owned to something wider, such a move might either be an IPO or selling equity in the company to a strategic investor.
“It’s a massive process that requires transformation, that requires an alignment with the realities of today. The NNPCL is now making money. But is it making enough money? No.
“NNPC has a ‘clear strategy’ for the transition, with a drive to diversify the supply of energy for consumers”, Kyari explained.
The NNPC boss stated that Nigerians must move away from the use of biomass in cooking, for instance, and towards cleaner natural gas, describing the move as an “absolute necessity”.
Kyari revealed that in addition to efforts to supply the domestic market, the NNPCL has grand plans for export with the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) and the Trans Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) as key to making it work.
“We are ramping up work on Train 7 (at Nigeria LNG) and giving a clear indication of a decision to proceed with more, we’re calling Train 8″, he stated.
According to him, it is not a lack of gas that is hampering NNPCL, but “it’s a lack of will.”
He noted, however, that Nigeria has changed, saying “Many global partners are talking to us today about how we work with you, how we build the gas. A number of countries are talking to NNPCL and in three, or four years to come, Nigeria will be a hub of gas in West Africa”.
He stated that among the other sources of support, the Afreximbank was working with NOCs to create an energy bank.
“It’s almost done. We will have an institution to lend to us”, he concluded.
Source- The Tide Newspaper.