THE Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kolo Kyari, has disclosed the company will “soon” launch an initial public offering (IPO) for the oil firm.
Kyari, who disclosed this on Tuesday, July 11 at the ongoing National Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja, said he already had President Bola Tinubu’s backing on the proposed IPO launch.
This is not the first time Kyari would be informing potential investors about the plan to offer NNPCL shares to the public “soon”, but without putting a specific date to it.
In July 2022, Kyari had said the IPO launch would be ready by mid-2023.
“We will go to the market and this is going to happen soon. This is the new direction, and I can confirm to you that Mr President is completely committed,” Kyari said at an energy conference held last year in the capital, Abuja.
NNPC, which became a commercial company in July last year, no longer has recourse to state funds and will have to raise its finances independently.
An analyst wants the oil company to address some concerns before the launch.
“I am curious to see the book building process, security underwriters, price discovery, issuing houses, exchange it will be quoted on, treasury management strategy for remitting dividends to shareholders (if it will be listed on the London Stock Exchange or New York Stock Exchange), and corporate governance,” Kelvin Emmanuel, a financial and development expert, told The ICIR.
Emmanuel said the NNPCL must clean up its legacy debts and address apprehensions surrounding its non-functional refineries before it could attract private capital and enlist in the stock market.
“The NNPCLtd. needs to raise at least $30 billion to fund its key projects like the liquified petroleum (LPG) gas processing plant, trains 8, 9 and 10 LNG and LPG vessels, bulk storage terminals for LPG, gas gathering manifolds and the Abuja- Kaduna-Kano pipeline projects. Private capital should come in, but the NNPC has to keep clean its books,” he said.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.