The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) would soon embark on restructuring to enable it to become more commercially viable.
Disclosing this with the staff of the Nigerian state-owned company, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, Malam Mele Kyari said the strategic move would see the corporation letting go of some of its core responsibilities.
According to him, the restructuring became imperative following the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) bill, which he said has provided the organisation with the opportunity to unburden itself from needless and toxic liabilities.
The new PIA is also expected to make NNPC become the largest and most capitalised company in Africa.
Kyari stressed that the importance of PIA to the state-owned firm and Nigeria’s economy cannot be overemphasised, noting that the act would provide opportunities to the company to earn more revenue for the country.
Kyari said the act had raised shareholders’ expectations on the company as well as given NNPC a wide room to make progress. “The PIA has put all money-making options on the table; it is up to us to take advantage of it,” he said.
The NNPC boss also charged staff of the organization to ensure that the company becomes a commercially viable entity and a multi-billion-dollar entity that would continuously deliver value to its shareholders.
What you should know
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari, on August 16, 2021, signed the PIA into law, after many controversies and setbacks.
Buhari assented to the bill after it was passed by the two chambers of the National Assembly in July and almost 20 years after it was first introduced. This development, at the time, represented a significant milestone for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The President had also in September 2021, ordered the incorporation of the NNPC with an initial capital of N200 billion, in a bid to prepare the Federal Government for the PIA.
