Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) is considering selling between five and 10 per cent of its equity to investors through an initial public offering, with a possible secondary listing on the London or New York stock exchanges.
The proposed share sale could open the state-owned oil company to greater public scrutiny and private investment while allowing the Federal Government to retain operational control.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, disclosed the plan in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, saying the primary offering would focus on Nigeria’s domestic capital market, with an international listing potentially following.
He said the proposed structure would enable Nigerians to own shares in the national oil company without the government relinquishing control of its operations.
However, the offering is not expected to take place immediately, as preparations could take at least the whole of next year.
Ojulari said the main objective of the proposed listing was to strengthen transparency and corporate governance, while raising capital would be a secondary consideration.
Reuters reported that the company was also considering further listings of some of its subsidiaries, in a move similar to the approach adopted by the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company, ADNOC.
The proposal comes as NNPC intensifies efforts to address governance and financial reporting gaps identified in its preparations for a public listing.
The company had previously indicated plans to list on the Nigerian Exchange, with Ojulari disclosing in July 2025 that it had developed a roadmap towards achieving the objective by 2028.
However, in September 2026, he said no date had been fixed for the initial public offering, stressing that the final decision rested with the company’s shareholders.
“We don’t have a date, but we are working hard to make sure we are ready as soon as we can. The decision to take an IPO is not ours. It’s the shareholders that will take that decision ultimately on behalf of the country,” he said.
Last month, Ojulari disclosed that the company had completed a baseline assessment of its readiness for the IPO and was working to address gaps identified by its advisers, particularly in financial reporting and corporate governance.
The latest proposal provides a clearer indication of the stake NNPC may offer to investors and the international markets it is considering. However, the company has yet to announce a formal timetable or valuation for the proposed transaction.
The planned listing is anchored in the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, which transformed the former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation into a commercially driven limited liability company in July 2022.
Under the law, NNPC Limited is expected to operate profitably without relying on government funding, declare dividends to its shareholders, and retain 20 per cent of its profits to support business growth.
The IPO proposal has also gained attention following the recent public share offer by Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which attracted strong interest from domestic investors.
The refinery’s offer, which closed on October 27, attracted orders worth about N6.4tn, equivalent to $4.78bn, from retail and institutional investors, according to sources familiar with the transaction cited by Reuters.
The subscription figure was almost three times the refinery’s targeted offer of about $1.6bn, although the final allotment and proceeds remain subject to the post-offer process.
The strong demand has provided an indication of investor appetite for major Nigerian energy businesses and could offer useful context for NNPC’s proposed entry into the capital market.
NNPC is also considering the listing against the background of improved profitability, despite a decline in revenue.
Its 2025 audited results showed a profit after tax of N7.2tn, representing a 33 per cent increase from N5.4tn recorded in 2024.
However, revenue fell by 24 per cent to N34.5tn from N45.1tn in the preceding year. The company also declared a dividend of N5.8trn.