The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited plans to concentrate any initial public offering on its domestic market before considering a secondary listing in London or New York.
If completed, the sale would mark a significant shift for a company that controls interests across Nigeria’s oil production, gas infrastructure, refining and fuel-distribution businesses.
It would also give private investors their first direct opportunity to own part of the national oil company, although the Nigerian government would remain firmly in control.
NNPC chief executive Bashir Bayo Ojulari disclosed the proposed structure in an interview with Reuters during the 2026 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference.
Ojulari said preparations for the listing would probably take at least all of 2027. He also said NNPC could eventually list some subsidiaries separately, following a structure used by state energy companies in the Gulf.
London and New York remain possibilities
Ojulari’s comments provide the clearest indication yet of the proportion of NNPC that could be offered to investors. However, the proposal remains at an early stage.
NNPC has not announced a valuation, appointed a final group of transaction advisers, published a prospectus or fixed a date for the offer. The choice between London and New York has also not been made.
Any foreign listing would be secondary to the planned domestic offer rather than a replacement for it.
This means it would be inaccurate to describe NNPC as preparing to sell 10% specifically in London or New York. The company is considering a 5% to 10% initial sale primarily in Nigeria, with either international financial centre potentially providing a later listing.
The company had previously identified 2028 as a possible listing target. In September 2026, however, Ojulari said there was still no fixed date and that the final decision rested with NNPC’s shareholders.
The new disclosure narrows the possible ownership structure but does not amount to formal approval of an IPO.
Dangote’s $4.78 billion order book changes the market conversation
Retail and institutional investors submitted orders worth approximately ₦6.4 trillion ($4.78 billion) for the refinery’s domestic offer, according to a person involved in the transaction cited by Reuters.
The demand was roughly three times the amount offered.
The ₦6.4 trillion figure represents investor orders, not the refinery’s final proceeds. Investors cannot collectively receive more shares than the company made available, meaning the final allotments will be lower than the total subscription.
Dangote’s operation is a privately controlled refinery, while NNPC holds interests across Nigeria’s wider oil and gas industry.
Still, the demand for Dangote shares gives NNPC evidence that domestic investors may have the appetite to support a large energy offering before the company seeks international capital.
What could a 10% NNPC stake be worth?
A 10% sale could become one of Africa’s largest public offerings, but NNPC has not disclosed the valuation it would seek or confirmed which assets would sit inside the listed company.
NNPC’s latest audited figures nonetheless provide an indication of its scale. The company reported 2025 revenue of ₦34.5 trillion, approximately $25.7 billion, and profit after tax of ₦7.2 trillion, or about $5.4 billion, using the exchange rate cited around the latest IPO reporting.
NNPC said its crude oil and condensate production averaged 1.77 million barrels per day in 2025, the highest level in five years.
The company is targeting two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million by 2030. It also wants to mobilise $60 billion for upstream, midstream and downstream investments by the end of the decade.
These ambitions could make access to domestic and international capital markets increasingly important, even though Ojulari said raising money was not the primary reason for the IPO.
Why NNPC says transparency comes first
The restructuring was intended to separate its commercial operations from the government’s traditional regulatory functions and make the company operate more like a profit-driven business.
Ojulari said the primary purpose of the proposed listing would be to improve transparency and corporate governance. Raising new capital would be secondary.
A public listing would require NNPC to meet more regular disclosure obligations, publish information for minority shareholders and subject its performance to greater scrutiny from investors and market regulators.
That could be as consequential as the money raised.
Several details are still unresolved, including the IPO timeline, NNPC’s valuation, the assets that investors would gain exposure to and whether London or New York will be chosen as the listing venue.
The more significant development is that NNPC has moved beyond discussing a potential listing to outlining the size of the stake it could initially offer investors.
Source: Africabusinessinsider