The joint venture is composed of NNPC (55 percent), Shell (30 percent), Elf (10 percent) and Agip (5 percent) and operates largely onshore on dry land or in the mangrove swamp.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which manages the country's state-owned oil industry, expects oil production to reach 40 billion barrels by 2010 through a combination of domestic and foreign investments.
In November 2004, China's Funsho Kupolokum announced a joint agreement with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to develop two oil blocks in the Chad Basin and construct a pipeline and refinery.
Hence, any attempt to restructure the NNPC will affect the country to its core, impacting entrenched political power bases as well as average Nigerians who are growing ever more dependent on gasoline and electricity for living a modern life.