Mele Kyari, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited’s Group Managing Director, has revealed why multinational oil companies are leaving the country.

On Monday, February 28, Kyari spoke at the Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES2022) in Abuja, saying that international oil corporations are leaving Nigeria and relocating their portfolios to places where they can bring value to the transition to carbon net-zero commitment.

According to him,

“Companies are divesting. They are leaving our country. That is the best way to put it. They are not leaving because opportunities are not here but because companies are shifting their portfolios where they can add value and not just that, but where they can also add to the journey towards carbon net-zero commitment.”

“We can’t do without financing and we also know that there is a shortage of financing in this respect. Therefore, for us in NNPC, we are here to serve you. We are here to facilitate this process. We will work with our partners, and of course, you are seeing some of the consequences.

“We understand the necessity for divestment. We do know that there are issues. We understand that this must take place but also that it must be done in such a way that we can deal with issues around decommissioning and also make sure that whatever arrangement that is put in place ensures that we are also aligned along the energy transition journey that we are going.”