Nigeria has revived its long-delayed plan to list Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), reopening a proposal that has remained largely dormant for about a decade and renewing expectations that the country’s state-owned oil giant could finally enter the public market.
President Bola Tinubu renewed the commitment during a meeting with the leadership of NGX Group on August 6, saying the government would reform NNPCL to the point where the company could be listed in its entirety. “We will do NNPCL reforms to the extent that one day the totality of it, not just arms and legs, the totality of it, will be listed on NGX,” Tinubu said.
The proposal is not new. Nigeria first documented plans to list NNPC on the domestic exchange in the draft National Oil Policy submitted to the Federal Executive Council in November 2016. The Petroleum Industry Act of 2021 subsequently provided a statutory framework for the commercialisation of the national oil company, but the proposed listing failed to materialise.
The renewed push comes as Nigeria’s capital market is experiencing strong momentum. The NGX has reportedly delivered a 57.8 per cent return in 2026, while market capitalisation stood at N158.51 trillion as of the trading week ended August 7. Against that backdrop, the potential listing of NNPCL could provide a major boost to market depth, liquidity and the number of large-scale investable assets available to domestic and international investors.
The potential size of the transaction is significant. According to reports NNPCL’s asset base is between $150 billion and $153 billion. Even if only 10 per cent of the company were initially offered to public investors and the company attracted a conservative valuation of $40 billion, such a float would represent a major transaction for the NGX and could substantially reshape the exchange’s energy sector.
Temi Popoola, group managing director and chief executive officer of NGX Group, described the President’s renewed commitment as “a landmark moment for Nigeria”, arguing that the listing of commercially viable government assets could strengthen capital formation and bring greater transparency and market discipline to strategic state-owned enterprises. “An NNPC listing provides an opportunity for Nigerians to own a stake in one of the nation’s most important commercial assets, while bringing the transparency, accountability and market discipline that public markets provide,” he said.
However, taking NNPCL public would require considerably more than transferring shares to the stock exchange. Investors would need a clear understanding of the company’s assets, liabilities, cash flows, governance structure, production outlook and obligations to the Federal Government. The company would also have to demonstrate that its operations can generate predictable returns and withstand the level of scrutiny that comes with being publicly traded.
That challenge is particularly important because much of NNPCL’s upstream production comes from non-operated assets. Wood Mackenzie analysts Ian Thom, Neivan Boroujerdi and Mansur Mohammed said the company’s future would depend significantly on the willingness of international oil companies and indigenous producers to continue investing in Nigeria. “The NNPC has big ambitions, but its future hinges on how much capital other players are willing to invest in Nigeria,” the analysts said.
NNPCL’s financial history also makes governance and disclosure critical to the success of any IPO. Past controversies over oil revenue remittances, coupled with more recent questions about the company’s handling of revenues and savings following the removal of petrol subsidies, mean potential investors are likely to demand greater clarity before assigning a premium valuation to the company. A credible listing would therefore require audited accounts, transparent disclosures, stronger corporate governance and a clearly defined relationship between NNPCL and the Federal Government.
The proposed IPO is also coming at a potentially important moment for Nigeria’s energy capital market, with Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals separately targeting a $5 billion initial public offering. CardinalStone analysts expect the refinery’s proposed listing to generate significant transaction activity and attract domestic and foreign institutional investors. If both transactions materialise, the NGX could gain two of Nigeria’s largest energy-related corporate assets within the same investment cycle.
For Nigeria, the return of the NNPCL IPO plan represents an opportunity to turn a decade-old reform ambition into a tangible capital-market transaction. But the real test will be whether the government can resolve the company’s governance, financial and operational uncertainties before asking public investors to put a value on it. If those reforms are credible, an NNPCL listing could move beyond a fundraising exercise and become a major step towards transforming Nigeria’s national oil company into a more transparent, commercially disciplined and shareholder-oriented energy business.