Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd has completed a baseline assessment of its readiness for a stock market listing and is now working to close gaps in its governance and financial reporting, Group Chief Executive Bayo Ojulari said, even as the state oil firm reported a 35.4% fall in first-half profit to ₦2.28 trillion.
Ojulari gave the update in a Bloomberg interview on 13 October, as reported by Nairametrics. He did not give a date for the initial public offering (IPO), but said the aim was to be ready as soon as possible.
What happened
According to Ojulari, advisers who reviewed the company identified weaknesses in areas including financial reporting and corporate governance. NNPC is now taking corrective steps to meet the standards expected of a listed company. “We’ve done the baseline assessment,” he said.
He also signalled that not every part of the group would make it into a listed entity. Some assets may not be suitable for an IPO, and the company may need to merge, reorganise or exit certain units before any offer. That reflects the scale of the task. NNPC runs a sprawling business that spans exploration and production, pipelines, refining, crude and product trading, and fuel retail.
Separately, Ojulari indicated that a decision could come in early 2027 on selling up to 30% of NNPC’s stakes in some joint ventures. That would be a distinct transaction from the IPO.
The update follows months of mixed signals on timing. In March 2025, NNPC’s chief finance officer said the company was in the final stages of preparing and had begun choosing advisers. In August 2026, President Bola Tinubu said his reforms would eventually include listing NNPC shares on the Nigerian Exchange. Then in September, NNPC said no date had been fixed and that shareholders would make the final call. At a recent industry event in Abuja, Vice President Kashim Shettima predicted the eventual listing would spark heavy trading on the local bourse.
Why it matters
An NNPC listing would be one of the most significant events in Nigeria’s capital market history. It could deepen the Nigerian Exchange, give local and foreign investors direct exposure to the country’s oil sector and push the state oil company towards greater transparency.
The governance and reporting fixes are therefore central. Investors will want clear, audited numbers, a board with real independence and a credible separation between the company and the government, which remains its owner.
Earnings will also matter. NNPC’s profit after tax fell to ₦2.28 trillion in the first half of 2026 from ₦3.53 trillion a year earlier. Monthly profit ranged from a low of ₦136 billion in February to a high of ₦535 billion in June, a pattern that points to volatile earnings.
The timing also invites comparison with Dangote Petroleum Refinery, whose $1.6 billion IPO is under way. Radarr has reported that the refinery extended its offer to attract more African investors. NNPC’s case is more complex because it must first decide what exactly it is selling.
What to watch
Key signals will include the appointment of lead advisers, the release of audited accounts that meet listing standards and any decision on which units will be bundled into the listed company. The early 2027 decision on joint venture stakes will also offer clues about how far NNPC is willing to go in reshaping itself before it faces public shareholders.
