Inn line with its plans to reform and restructure the petroleum sector, the federal government is making moves to list the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, according to Thisday.
The plan by the FG is contained in the latest draft national oil policy has revealed.
The Draft National Oil Policy 2016, was released alongside the Draft National Policy on Gas.
The draft oil policy stated, “The NNPC will be made autonomous from the state, it will relinquish all its policy making and regulatory activities, and it will be treated on an equal basis with private sector operators for projects.”
“Under the Petroleum Policy, NNPC will be made autonomous from the state, it will relinquish all its policy making and regulatory activities, and it will be treated on an equal basis with private sector operators for projects.
“NNPC will also be restructured into five autonomous profit centre subsidiaries so that the value of separate activities can be realised and operational efficiencies can be introduced.
The document noted, “NNPC will be restructured such that it is fully set up as a Corporation (Limited Liability Company), in accordance with standard international practice for Corporations, including operating under commercial law and a two tier board structure.
“The NNPC restructuring will mean that policy making will become the sole preserve of the MPR (ministry of petroleum resources), all regulatory activities will become the sole preserve of the new single petroleum regulatory agency under the oversight of the MPR, NNPC will be responsible for managing the national interests in the JVs, PSCs and in other upstream, midstream and downstream projects where the government is involved as an investor, full corporatisation and restructuring of NNPC.
“The corporatisation and restructuring of NNPC will involve; separating NNPC into five independent autonomous units (profit centre subsidiaries) which will be operationally independent, self-accounting and will hold funds in their own right, the creation of a new parent holding company to be called the National Oil Company of Nigeria (NOCN).
“NNPC will cease to exist as a statutory corporation and as a legal entity and will be succeeded by NOCN. NOCN will be incorporated as a limited liability company, NOCN will be governed according to the governance rules of the Nigerian Stock Exchange prior to the listing of its shares, and by the rules of any course where its shares are eventually listed.”
Dolapo is a writer and journalist who works with YNaija. He has interests in Christianity, politics and sports.
cool beans