Ojulari-led NNPC resumes monthly report after nearly 3 years

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has resumed the publication of its monthly financial and operational reports, ending a nearly three-year hiatus.

Last month, the Bayo Ojulari-led national oil company released its first NNPC Limited Monthly Report Summary in the revived series, covering performance metrics for April 2025.

The second report was also released in June, signalling a renewed commitment to transparency and public accountability in the country’s vital oil and gas sector.

Although not as concise and robust as it once was, the monthly report still covers vital data, including crude oil production figures, pipeline status, availability of refined petroleum products, NNPC Foundation public impact initiatives, and export revenues.

This marks the end of a 33-month hiatus that began in August 2022, when the state-run oil firm transitioned into a fully commercial entity under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Read also: Reps ask FG to settle €1.1m OACPS-EU debt to avert embarrassment, sanctions

The move is considered a significant achievement for the new leadership of the national oil company, as the state-owned firm had long resisted calls from the media and other stakeholders to resume the monthly report, which was suspended years ago without any official explanation.

Industry observers and civil society groups have welcomed the move as a positive step toward restoring transparency in a sector long criticised for opacity. However, some have called for broader reforms and independent audits to complement the reports.

“Transparency and accountability are some of the cardinal principles of every democratic society. I just hope that Nigerians will read this full report and digest it well. Keep it up,” Oladipo Akande, a historian, said on X.

Two years ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had advised the state-owned oil company to resume publishing monthly reports.

“While the authorities have published the annual financial reports of the NNPC since 2019, the publishing of monthly reports of oil fiscal transfers to the government have stopped following the conversion of the NNPC to a public limited company,” the IMF said in its staff report for the 2022 Article IV Consultation.

“Staff recommended the resumption of publication of the monthly reports along with the audit of oil fiscal revenues received from the NNPC,” it added.

It is described as a welcome recent measure to tackle oil theft in the country, which has seen its oil production tumble to its lowest level in several decades and miss the benefits of higher prices in international markets.

The Washington-based fund recommended steady actions in the fight against oil theft, along with increased transparency of NNPC’s oil fiscal transfers.