Indications have emerged that sweeping changes are imminent within the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its subsidiaries, following the assumption of office by the newly appointed Group Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Bayo Ojulari.
Ojulari officially resumed duties on Monday amidst growing anticipation of a comprehensive reorganisation of the national oil company’s operations.
The changes, according to internal sources, will begin from the corporate headquarters and extend across the entire NNPCL ecosystem, including its Upstream, Gas and Power, New Energy, Downstream, and Non-Energy businesses.
According to Vanguard findings, the impending restructuring is part of efforts by the new leadership to align the company with national objectives and inject greater efficiency into the oil and gas industry.
The goal is to place “round pegs in round holes,” focusing on performance and results-driven leadership.
Subsidiaries Likely to Be Affected
The businesses expected to be impacted include:
- NNPC E&P Limited (NEPL)
- NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS)
- NNPC Energy Services Limited (EnServ)
- NNPC Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO)
- NNPC New Energy Limited (NNEL)
- NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC)
- NNPC Gas Marketing Limited (NGML)
- NNPC Gas & Power Investment Services (NGPIS)
- NNPC Trading Limited (NTL)
- NNPC Retail Limited (NRL)
- NNPC Shipping Limited (NSL)
- NNPC RefChem Limited (NRCL)
- NNPC Downstream Investment Services (NDIS)
- Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company Limited (NPSC)
- National Energy Reserve Management Company (NERMC)
- NNPC Non-Energy Investment Services (NNIS)
- NNPC Foundation Limited/Gte
- NNPC Academy
- NNPC Properties Limited (NPL)
- NNPC Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
- Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI)
Reacting to the leadership change, oil and gas industry experts have begun setting a reform agenda for the new NNPCL management.
Prof. Wumi Iledare, Executive Director of the Emmanuel Egbogah Foundation, urged the Ojulari-led team to revisit the Naira-for-Crude initiative with local refineries and consider the public listing of NNPCL shares—placing purchase limits on individuals and excluding corporate interests.
He also recommended:
1. Divestment of Joint Venture shares from International Oil Companies (IOCs);
2. Full alignment of NNPCL with the intentions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA);
3. Ending the “agency mindset” and adopting a commercially-driven approach;
4. Promoting economies of scale;
5. Enhancing recruitment, training, and capacity development to boost productivity.
Prof. Iledare also commended the former GCEO, Mele Kyari, for his efforts in steering the company through major reforms, expressing optimism in the new team’s ability to deliver value.
Dr. Muda Yusuf, CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), emphasized the importance of professional and independent governance in transforming NNPCL into a globally competitive institution.
“Our peers like Saudi Aramco, PETRONAS, and China National Petroleum Corporation have leveraged their national oil companies for economic transformation. We expect NNPCL to do the same under this new leadership,” he said.
Dr. Yusuf called for:
- Dramatic improvements in corporate governance;
- Optimisation of oil and gas assets;
- A PPP investment model to drive profitability;
- An end to the burden of moribund refineries;
And the listing of NNPCL on both local and international stock exchanges to enforce transparency and accountability.
He, however, warned that success would depend on shielding NNPCL from political interference.
“For this vision to be realized, the independence of the new NNPCL must be guaranteed. There should be zero tolerance for interference from political leadership, the National Assembly, or bureaucratic bottlenecks,” he stressed.