ABUJA, July 19 (Reuters) – The state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp will be ready to launch an initial public offering (IPO) by the middle of next year, the group’s CEO said on Tuesday after the firm officially became a commercial entity called NNPC Ltd .
“We are confident that this company will be ready for an IPO by the middle of next year, which means you have the system, the processes and a company in place that is accountable to its stakeholders and shareholders,” Mele Kyari told reporters in Abuja.
As a commercial enterprise, NNPC Ltd will no longer need to rely on government funds. Its shares and assets, including oil blocks and refineries, are now held by the Ministries of Petroleum and Finance.
NNPC Ltd operates joint ventures with Western oil majors, but anti-corruption campaigners have long called for more transparency from the company, demanding the publication of its crude oil contracts and accountability report.
Deputy Petroleum Minister Timpire Sylva said earlier Tuesday that NNPC Ltd would operate as a profitable company that would declare dividends.
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Reporting by Camillus Eboh and Felix Onuah; Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Edited by Edmund Blair and Richard Pullin
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