BY FESTUS OKOROMADU, ABUJA
President Bola Tinubu has given approval to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to launch an initial public offering.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kolo Kyari, disclosed this on Tuesday at the ongoing Nigeria Oil and Gas Energy Week forum in Abuja.
While delivering a keynote address on the theme: “Redefining Nigeria’s Energy Landscape for a Sustainable Energy Future,” Kyari said he has secured the backing of Mr. President to go public as earlier indicated.
Last July, NNPCL had said it would be ready for an IPO by mid-2023, as it seeks to sell shares to the public.
“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 told participants at the energy conference.
While emphasizing the urgency for harnessing the nation’s abundant natural gas as a source of revenue and energy transmission, Kyari said, the key initiatives on the horizon of NNPCL include expanding gas infrastructure to deliver gas across West Africa and potentially, Europe, expansion of liquefaction capacity of NLNG and enabling availability of LPG as a cooking fuel and CNG as alternative fuel for automobiles.
Highlighting the need for the industry to leverage on new technologies in harnessing the enormous potentials that gas has to offer, Kyari said that Nigeria and all the governments in West Africa had thrown their weight behind the gas pipeline project by signing all the required protocols that will accelerate the timely delivery of the project.
“The key initiatives on the horizon include expanding gas infrastructure to deliver gas across West Africa and potentially, Europe, expansion of liquefaction capacity of NLNG and enabling availability of LPG as a cooking fuel and CNG as alternative fuel for automobiles,” Kyari stated.
On efforts to expand Nigeria’s gas market, he said, the West Africa gas pipeline project, when completed, would create market and regional integration.
“We will follow through and proceed to deliver on our major gas project to deliver gas into the domestic market and look for gas for export, as you are aware, we are expanding the LNG train 7 and potentially train 8, doubling its capacity and looking for new opportunities.
“The market is looking for gas and everybody knows this,” he said.
According to Kyari, issues concerning affordability, accessibility, and sustainability are the drivers of Nigeria’s energy future.
The NNPCL boss insisted that the strategic decisions like the petrol subsidy removal have already paved the way for positive change in the sector, while freeing up capital for powering the sustainable supply of energy.
While addressing stakeholders at the conference virtually, OPEC Secretary General, Haitham Al Ghais, expressed his appreciation to Nigeria for the role it plays in the Organization’s affairs since the country joined OPEC in 1971.
Making reference to the event’s theme “Powering Nigeria’s Sustainable Energy Future,” the Secretary General highlighted that the industry continues to seek the right balance between meeting the world’s rising energy needs and addressing climate change.
“The oil and gas industry has a long history of being at the cutting edge of innovation and technology, and now it has the possibility of bringing that expertise to support developing cleaner and more efficient technological solutions to help unlock an emissions-free future,” he said.
The NOG Energy Week Conference and Exhibition, with the theme: Powering Nigeria’s Sustainable Energy Future, previously known as Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference and Exhibition is a gathering of experts, stakeholders and top players in the Oil and Gas industry in Nigeria and across the globe.
It is meant to facilitate multilateral dialogue, foster multi stakeholder engagement and enable deal making within the energy industry.