President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Bayo Ojulari, a seasoned oil executive and former Shell leader, as the new head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd). The move signals a renewed push by the administration to boost oil production and revive the country’s struggling refining sector.
According to a statement released on Wednesday by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, Ojulari’s appointment takes immediate effect. He succeeds Mele Kyari, who previously held the position.
Ojulari brings decades of experience in the oil and gas industry. He recently served as Chief Operating Officer at Renaissance Africa Energy Co., a Nigerian consortium that took over Shell’s former onshore operations in the country. Before that, he led Shell Nigeria’s exploration division.
In addition to appointing a new CEO, President Tinubu also reconstituted the NNPC board, introducing an 11-member team tasked with reforming the sector and improving operational efficiency.
This leadership change comes as part of broader economic reforms initiated during Tinubu’s first year in office, which included ending fuel subsidies and devaluing the naira. With these changes, the president is now focusing on maximizing the oil sector’s contribution to national revenue.
Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, currently pumps about 1.8 million barrels of crude oil daily. The government aims to increase that to 2 million barrels per day by 2027 and reach 3 million barrels per day by 2030. Similarly, gas output is projected to grow from 8 billion standard cubic feet per day to 10 billion cubic feet within the same timeframe.
Tinubu has also challenged the new NNPC leadership to significantly boost the country’s refining capacity from virtually zero to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027, and eventually to 500,000 barrels per day by 2030. This is a bold goal, given that Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries, with a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, have remained inactive for years due to maintenance issues.
Source: Reuters
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