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Says $60bn investment needed to meet 2030 production targets
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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) recorded a 33 per cent increase in profit after tax to N7.2 trillion in 2025, from N5.4 trillion in 2024.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Bayo Ojulari, disclosed this on Tuesday at a press briefing in Abuja following the company’s Annual General Meeting and earnings call.
Ojulari said the improved performance was driven largely by operational efficiency, cost discipline and stronger execution across the company’s businesses, despite lower crude oil prices and reduced white-product volumes during the year.
He said NNPC Ltd recorded revenue of N34.5 trillion, while taxes, royalties and other remittances to the government rose by 39 per cent to N22.3 trillion.
According to him, crude oil and condensate production reached a five-year high of 1.77 million barrels per day at its peak, while Nigerian gas supply rose to a three-year high of 7.2 billion standard cubic feet per day.
Ojulari said the company was targeting crude oil production of two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million barrels per day by 2030. He added that gas production was expected to rise to 10 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2027 and 12 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2030.
To achieve the targets, he said NNPC Ltd would need to mobilise more than $60 billion in investments across the energy value chain.
“These numbers are quite staggering, and they’re challenging. We’re not afraid. We believe with the right ambition, we can mobilise the right focus, the right energy towards attaining those ambitions,” Ojulari said.
He said Nigeria had the resources and people required to meet the targets but would need to bring in the necessary technology and financing.
On the country’s refineries, Ojulari said NNPC had made significant progress with prospective partners under its technical equity partnership model.
He disclosed that the prospective partners had conducted a three-month intrusive on-site due diligence exercise involving more than 30 engineers.
According to him, the new approach is designed to ensure that the refineries become commercially sustainable and technologically competitive.
“We have to work together to make sure that the refinery can make money. And until we find a pathway for it to make money, we’re not going to go,” he said.
Ojulari said the technical assessment had also highlighted the need to incorporate newer technologies into the refinery rehabilitation plans rather than simply restoring outdated facilities.
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He added that NNPC Ltd was exploring opportunities to expand petrochemical operations alongside refining to improve the profitability of the downstream business.
On the planned listing of NNPC Ltd, Ojulari said the company had commenced its listing-readiness process.
He said the first phase involved a diagnostic assessment to identify gaps that needed to be addressed before the company could be ready for the capital market.
Ojulari clarified that the proposed listing would cover NNPC Ltd and its subsidiaries, rather than being limited to the refineries.
He said the eventual listing would depend on shareholder decisions, market conditions and strategic considerations, while management’s responsibility was to ensure that the company had the transparency, accountability and sustainable performance required to become listable.
Ojulari also disclosed that NNPC Ltd had completed the main line of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline and commenced tie-ins to relevant locations, including the Abuja power plant and Kaduna.
He said the completion of the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline would help connect gas supply sources to markets and support industrialisation, power generation and economic growth.
“The impact starts when gas starts going to power or going into industry,” he said.
The Group Chief Financial Officer, Adapo Shegun, said the company’s improved profitability was also supported by tighter cost management.
He disclosed that general and administrative expenses fell by about 25 per cent in 2025, while NNPC Ltd also recovered significant long-standing receivables, allowing it to unwind some provisions made in previous years.
Shegun said the company would continue to focus on operational efficiency and reducing unit operating costs, particularly in its upstream operations.
Ojulari said more than 1,000 newly recruited professionals joined NNPC Ltd in 2025 and completed a one-year internship and training programme before being deployed across the company.
He added that women now occupy more than 23 per cent of leadership positions at NNPC Ltd, above the global industry average of 17 per cent.
Ojulari said the company’s 2025 performance had provided a stronger foundation for increased investment, higher production and greater contribution to government revenue, while stressing that the improved results also raised expectations for future performance.
