Forty-four years after the creation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),it has transited to a Limited liability Company, known as Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCLimited).
The “new NNPC” was unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, on Tuesday July 19, 2022 in Abuja.
TheFact Daily recalled that it was the same Buhari who was privileged to have led the creation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on the 1st of July 1977.
“I was again privileged to sign the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021, heralding the long-awaited reform of our petroleum sector”, the President said.
He said, with the provisions of PIA 2021, NNPCL was now independent and would conduct itself under the best international business practice in transparency, governance and commercial viability.
“Coincidentally, I, on the 1st of July 2022 authorized transfer of assets from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to its successor company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, and steered the implementation leading to the unveiling of Africa’s largest National Oil company today,” Buhari said.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, lauded Buhari for the signing of PIA 2021 that lingered for 20 years.
He said, “while the country was waiting for the PIA, Nigeria’s oil and gas industry lost about $50 billion worth of investments. In fact, between 2015 and 2019, KPMG states that “only four percent of the $70 billion investment inflows into Africa’s oil and gas industry came to Nigeria even though the country is the continent’s biggest producer and the largest reserves.”
He however said all those are in the past with the new industry.
Earlier, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), NNPCL, Mele Kyari, said, the unveiling of the firm marks a new beginning as he lauded President Buhari for the PIA and the reforms of NNPC which operated for 45 years.
On the plans of the company, Kyari said, the firm has created a robust expansion plan to increase its retail outlets from 547 units to 1500 outlets within the next six months, stating that this will be done through partnerships.
