The Nigerian National Oil Corporation (NNPC) announced that the country is planning new oil and gas policies aimed at attracting more private investors and boost crude production by 500,000b/d by 2020, Ecofin Agency reported. The Petroleum Ministry’s oil and gas policies will included restructuring of NNPC, setting up an industry regulator, inviting more investors, and boosting refining capacity to end expensive imports.

Furthermore, Nigeria’s federal government plans to list NNPC on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, once it concludes its reforms of the country’s petroleum sector, according to Today.ng. In the Draft National Oil Policy 2016, released alongside the Draft National Policy on Gas, three sectors in Nigeria’s economy, which are power, transportation, and industries, will be the key drivers of its new policy on gas.

The draft oil policy stated that NNPC will be made autonomous from the state, it will relinquish all its policy making and regulatory activities, and it will be treated on an equal basis with private sector operators for projects. NNPC will also be restructured into five autonomous profit centre subsidiaries so that the value of separate activities can be realized and operational efficiencies can be introduced,” added the draft policy.

Accordingly, policy making will become the sole preserve of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR), all regulatory activities will become the sole preserve of the new single petroleum regulatory agency under the oversight of the MPR. While, NNPC will be responsible for managing the national interests in the joint ventures, production sharing contracts, and other upstream, midstream and downstream projects where the government is involved as an investor.