NNPC Towers, Abuja. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
NNPC Ltd is considering selling 5% to 10% of its shares to the public, group chief executive Bashir Ojulari said in an interview published on 3 November. The listing would focus mainly on Nigeria's own capital market, with a possible second listing in London or New York.
What's on the table:
Ojulari said NNPC expects to spend at least all of 2027 getting ready. It is also considering listing some of its subsidiaries separately, following the model of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which has floated several of its businesses one by one.
The main aim, he said, is better transparency and governance. Raising money comes second.
A ten-year conversation:
The idea is not new.
2016: the federal government first said it wanted to list NNPC.
2021: the Petroleum Industry Act turned NNPC into a commercial company that can sell shares to the public.
March 2025: NNPC hired advisers for IPO readiness and investment banking.
July 2025: Ojulari set out a roadmap targeting a listing by 2028.
October 2026: finance minister Taiwo Oyedele called for NNPC and NLNG to be listed.
The catch:
Investors will look hard at the numbers. NNPC's audited profit after tax rose 32.7% to ₦7.18 trillion in 2025, but revenue fell 23.4% to ₦34.52 trillion, and ₦7.10 trillion of that profit, about 99%, came from "sundry income" rather than its core business. From January to August 2026, it reported a profit of ₦2.99 trillion on revenue of ₦28.54 trillion.
That is why cleaning up the books comes first. NNPC said in October that it was still fixing governance and financial-reporting gaps flagged by its advisers.
Separately, Chinese companies have shown interest in taking stakes in NNPC's Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which need major rehabilitation. NNPC would keep at least 10% of each.
What it means for you:
Nobody has put a value on NNPC yet. But Oyedele's back-of-the-envelope figure last month was $160 billion. On that number, a 5% to 10% sale would be worth $8 billion to $16 billion, five to ten times the Dangote refinery's $1.6 billion IPO.
If it happens, Nigerians would get their first chance to own a direct slice of the national oil company, and NNPC would have to publish audited results and answer to shareholders every quarter. The earliest that looks likely is 2028.