The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, on Thursday said that 40 per cent of the shares of the state-owned oil entity would be floated on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) when the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) is enacted.
He gave this hint at the 2018 annual conference of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC).
The NNPC boss in his keynote address titled ‘PIGB: Emerging Issues and Concerns’ spoke on the key thrusts of the PIGB, which include making the national oil company commercially driven, hence the need to raise money from the stock market.
Baru, who was represented at the event by the Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Mr. Rowland Ewubare, explained that the PIGB focused on the key governing institutions in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and aimed to separate the Regulatory, Policy and Commercial roles of public sector agencies and allocate respective roles to agencies to properly position them for performance.
He said: “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 per cent), the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (40 per cent) and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (20 per cent). However, 10 per cent and an additional 30 per cent of the shares of the company shall be floated on the Nigerian Stock Exchange between five years and 10 years from incorporation respectively for the significant cash call build up”, the industry expert added
Baru explained further that the power of issuance, modification, amendment, extension, suspension, review, cancellation and reissuance, revocation and/or termination of award licenses/leases had been transferred to the commission in line with the new global trend, noting that the PIGB creates a legal framework and expanded role for the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
Speaking at the forum, the Chairman of the conference and Deputy Managing Director, Deepwater District, Total E&P Nigeria Limited, Mr. Ahmadu-Kida Musa, projected that the company would increase its output to Nigeria’s daily oil production with about add 200,000 barrels of oil per day by year end.
