The relationship between NNPC and the federal government has changed more in the last five years than in the previous four decades. Before 2021, the relationship was simple: NNPC was a government agency. The minister gave orders. NNPC followed them. The lines were direct but blurry. Conflicts of interest were everywhere. After the Petroleum Industry…

Before 2021, the answer was simple: NNPC regulated itself. Sort of. The old NNPC both participated in the industry and regulated it. It was the player and the referee. The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) sat under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and handled some oversight, but the lines were blurry. Conflicts were built into…

If you’ve been following Nigerian oil and gas news, you’ve heard about the Petroleum Industry Act. You’ve heard about NNPC Limited. But what’s the connection between them? The short answer: the PIA created NNPC Limited. Section 53 of the Act mandated the incorporation of the company. Section 257 abolished the old NNPC. One law, one…

Who owns NNPC? For most of its history, the answer was simple but vague. The government owned it. That was enough. But after the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, the answer became precise. NNPC Limited has actual shares. Actual shareholders. Actual legal documentation. The ownership structure is now defined by two laws: the Petroleum Industry Act…

If you want to understand NNPC, you need to understand the laws that created it, shaped it, and now govern it. For over four decades, one law was enough. The NNPC Act of 1977 defined everything — what NNPC could do, how it was structured, who it answered to. It was a simple framework for…