Company: Nigeria National Petroleum
Country: Nigeria
Sector: Oil and gas
CEO: Bashir (Bayo) Ojulari
Website: https://nnpcgroup.com
Careers Page: Not publicly listed
LinkedIn: Not publicly listed
Email: Not publicly listed
Headquarters: Abuja, Nigeria
Founded: 1977
Valuation/Revenue: $9,706m revenue (African Business Top 250, 2025 ranking)
NNPC Limited, commonly known as NNPC or the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, is Nigeria’s state-owned national oil company, responsible for exploration, production, refining, gas processing and marketing of petroleum products across Africa’s largest crude oil producing nation. Reincorporated as a commercially oriented limited liability company in 2022, it remains wholly owned by the Nigerian government but is now structured to operate more like a commercial oil major.
Is NNPC Legit?
Yes, NNPC is a genuine national oil company established under Nigerian law, not a scam. It is one of the most closely watched institutions in Nigeria given oil’s dominant role in government revenue and foreign exchange earnings, and its activities, investment plans and leadership are covered extensively by Nigerian and international energy media. As with any major state institution, NNPC has faced periodic corruption allegations and governance criticism over the decades, but the corporate entity itself is a legitimate, functioning national oil company rather than a fraudulent enterprise.
How Big Is NNPC?
NNPC reported revenue of roughly $9.7 billion according to African Business magazine’s 2025 Top 250 companies in Africa ranking, reflecting its central role in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, historically Africa’s largest crude oil producer. The company has set ambitious targets including raising crude output toward 2 million barrels per day by 2027 and attracting some $60 billion in fresh upstream and midstream investment by 2030, alongside a stated $24 billion of upstream investment already secured as of a 2026 industry conference.
Who Is the CEO of NNPC?
Bashir “Bayo” Ojulari became Group CEO of NNPC Limited in April 2025, replacing Mele Kyari, whose tenure ended amid a management shake-up ordered by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu. Ojulari is a former Shell executive with decades of upstream oil and gas experience across Nigeria and internationally, and his appointment was seen as part of a push to bring more commercially minded, technically experienced leadership to NNPC as it tries to reverse years of underinvestment, pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft that had depressed Nigeria’s production well below its OPEC quota.
Who Owns NNPC?
NNPC Limited is 100% owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria, with shares held on behalf of the government by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated following its 2022 conversion from a statutory corporation into a limited liability company under the Petroleum Industry Act. Despite the change in corporate form, which was intended to make NNPC more transparent, accountable and commercially run, and to eventually pave the way for potential future share sales, the company remains fully state-owned with no private or public shareholders as of 2026.
What Does NNPC Do?
NNPC’s operations span the full oil and gas value chain in Nigeria: it holds interests in joint ventures and production-sharing contracts with international oil majors operating Nigeria’s onshore and offshore fields, operates domestic refineries (including a stake in the long-troubled Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries, plus involvement alongside the privately built Dangote Refinery in fuel supply arrangements), manages crude oil exports and domestic petroleum product distribution, and is increasingly focused on natural gas development through projects like the AKK (Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano) pipeline, which was reported to be roughly 72% complete.
How Old Is NNPC?
The original Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was established in 1977, consolidating Nigeria’s state interests in the oil sector that had existed in various forms since the 1970s following the nationalisation wave that swept oil-producing developing countries. It operated for 45 years as a state corporation before being reincorporated in July 2022 as NNPC Limited, a private limited company wholly owned by the government but no longer subject to the same public-sector governance rules, as part of the broader Petroleum Industry Act reforms designed to overhaul Nigeria’s oil and gas sector governance.
What Has NNPC Been in the News For Recently?
Through 2025 and into 2026, NNPC has been prominently in the news for a management overhaul under new GCEO Bayo Ojulari, including the announcement of a new senior management team, and for its ambitious investment and production targets discussed at industry events such as CERAWeek and the Nigeria Oil and Gas conference. Ojulari has repeatedly emphasised Nigeria’s investment case to international capital, and NNPC has continued to be central to debates over fuel subsidy removal, the domestic refining capacity built by the Dangote Refinery, and efforts to curb oil theft and pipeline vandalism that have historically constrained Nigeria’s output well below capacity.
Links
Website: https://nnpcgroup.com
Careers Page: Not found
LinkedIn: Not found
Email: Not publicly listed
FAQ
Is NNPC a government company?
Yes, NNPC Limited is 100% owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Who is the CEO of NNPC?
Bashir “Bayo” Ojulari, Group CEO since April 2025.
Is NNPC publicly traded?
No, it is wholly state-owned with no public shares.
What is the difference between NNPC and NNPC Limited?
NNPC Limited is the reincorporated, commercially structured successor (since 2022) to the original Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation established in 1977.
Where is NNPC headquartered?
Abuja, Nigeria.
When was NNPC founded?
1977.