The Centre for Energy Accountability and Reform (CEAR) has applauded the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for posting a Profit After Tax of ₦5.4 trillion for the 2024 financial year, describing the performance as a landmark moment for Nigeria’s oil industry.
In a statement on Tuesday, December 2, in Abuja, the group said the result, released by NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, signals that the national oil company is finally responding to disciplined management and modern commercial reforms.
The statement, signed by CEAR’s Executive Director, Dr Ibrahim Ahmed, said the new profit figure marks a 64 per cent year-on-year leap from the ₦3.297 trillion recorded in 2023, while revenue surged by 88 per cent to ₦45.1 trillion, boosted by higher production volumes and strengthened downstream reforms.
“This profit performance is not accidental. It reflects a deliberate, disciplined shift in how NNPC Limited is run, one that prioritises efficiency, transparency and commercial viability,” CEAR said.
“Under Bayo Ojulari’s watch, the company has shown that a national oil company can be profitable, globally competitive and strategically aligned with national development goals.”
CEAR credited NNPC’s transformation since its transition into a limited liability company, saying Ojulari has helped stabilise operations, tighten cost structures and rebuild investor confidence at a time when global capital is increasingly sensitive to governance.
Ahmed noted that the performance aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, especially the administration’s push for fiscal sustainability and stronger sector governance.
According to CEAR, reforms across the upstream, midstream and downstream segments have begun to correct years of inefficiency, vandalism, under-investment and regulatory conflict.
While acknowledging the drop in foreign exchange earnings contained in NNPC’s 2024 statement, the Centre said the decline reinforces the need for sustained reforms to increase production, expand gas output and deepen local value-addition.
“The path to long-term stability must be investment-led and production-driven,” Ahmed said.
CEAR endorsed NNPC’s medium-term targets to ramp crude oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million barrels per day by 2030, describing them as “the kind of ambition the sector needs.”
It also welcomed the oil company’s projected scale-up of gas production to 12 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2030, calling it “strategic foresight for energy transition.”
The group further praised NNPC’s plan to mobilise $60 billion in fresh investments across the oil and gas value chain, saying such capital expansion will boost job creation, strengthen revenues and anchor Nigeria’s energy transformation.
“With this performance, NNPC Limited has sent a clear message that Nigeria’s energy sector can work, and work profitably, when guided by clear vision and competent management,” Ahmed said.
The Centre urged regulators, industry stakeholders and political actors to avoid distractions and continue backing the reforms that are restoring credibility to Nigeria’s petroleum value chain.
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