NNPCL gearing up for IPO –Kyari
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr Mele Kyari, on Monday, said efforts were in top gear to sell shares of the outfit through an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
He said the moves were consistent with its new status as a limited liability company governed by the rules of the Company And Allied Matters Act (CAMA).
Kyari stated this in Abuja on Tuesday at the ongoing NOG Energy Week Conference & Exhibition.
According to him, NNPCL has identified key initiatives that will be vigorously pursued, especially the need to expand gas infrastructure to deliver the vital commodity across West Africa and potentially, Europe.
A key point, Kyari noted, was the expansion of liquefaction capacity of NLNG and enabling availability of LPG as a cooking fuel and CNG as alternative fuel for automobiles.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s status as a gas nation with associated oil, Kyari reiterated the need to bridge the skilled manpower gap, ensure asset security, and invest in infrastructure to transform challenges into opportunities.
The NNPCL GCEO also touched on subsidy removal, saying the days of smoking N400 billion monthly in the name of subsidy payouts were over.
“We really need new partners to support and do what must be done. We have issues like security and financing.
“2012 divestment stalled for many reasons. Cash calls would not be the business as usual. We have climate issues too. Sahara desert receding one kilometer yearly. Charcoal is now big business causing deserts everywhere and that’s why we’re giving them alternatives, gas, LPG and the rest.
“N400bn monthly for subsidy was another malaise. We are already seeing the value. No more free dollars”, he said.
Earlier, Gabriel Aduda, permanent secretary, ministry of petroleum resources, said Nigeria and Africa are doing well in energy resources and need to be explored and utilised to achieve industrialization and other value-additions.
We have to also be mindful of the environmental hazards of mining activities. That’s why clean energy is good. Funding, technology, and cooperation are key. You have the technology, we have the natural resources and then we cooperate. It’s not a master-servant relationship.
You can’t come here, take the materials for making batteries, take them out and bring us batteries. No, we need to have the companies here. Africa has to hold a conversation on energy transition on its own terms”, he said.
