Nigeria to make NNPC Most Capitalised Company In Africa

01 Mar Nigeria to make NNPC Most Capitalised Company In Africa

The Federal Government has said that it is planning to make the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, the biggest and most capitalised company in Africa.

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, made the disclosure on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari at the 5th edition of the Nigerian International Energy Summit 2022, held at the Presidential Banquet Hall in Abuja on Monday.

The summit was formerly the Nigerian Petroleum Summit, but rebranded to replace ‘petroleum’ with ‘energy’ as the push for low carbon energy intensifies.

At the COP26 held in Glasgow, UK in 2021, Nigeria was among the low emitters that opted for 2060 as a feasible deadline to achieve net zero emission.

To fast-track Nigeria’s commitment, the country launched the ‘Decade of Gas’, which makes gas the transition fuel and also signed the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021 to overhaul the oil industry.

“The energy sector has been elevated to become the goose that lays the golden egg for the nation under the leadership of the President, Muhammadu Buhari.

“Both energy poverty and the climate change nexus have to be addressed simultaneously. It must be geared towards clean and sustainable sources.

“For countries such as Nigeria that are rich in natural resources, but still energy poor, the transition must not come at the expense of affordable and reliable energy for people, cities and industries.

“On the contrary, it must be inclusive, equitable and just, which means preserving the right type of sustainable development and poverty eradication as enshrined in global treaties such as the Paris Accord.

“It is evident that what makes sense from the point of view of balancing energy security with environmental sustainability is the use of gas as a transition fuel”, said Sylva.

The minister quoted the President as saying that one of the targets of the administration is to make the newly incorporated NNPC as the largest company in the continent.

He said, “To demonstrate our seriousness, the administration did not waste time with the implementation of the PIA. We have also ensured the incorporation of the NNPC Ltd under the Companies and Allied Matters Act.

“The NNPC is a limited company now and our target is to make it the biggest and the most capitalised and the most profitable company in the whole of Africa.”

By implication, the government is targeting to build the company to worth over $105bn (N43.7trn).

Africa’s biggest company, South African technology investor Naspers Ltd (NPNJn.J), is valued over $104bn, while the second most capitalised company, Anglo America, is valued at $53.2bn (N22.15trn).

It also means that the NNPC would be bigger than the combined market capitalisation of all the companies traded on the Nigerian Exchange Group Ltd, which is currently at N25.5trn or $61.29bn.