President Bola Tinubu has undertaken a significant restructuring of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) by dismissing Mele Kyari from his position as Group Chief Executive Officer, along with Chairman Pius Akinyelure and other board members. This move is part of the administration’s efforts to reform the oil sector amid challenges such as declining production and the need for increased transparency.
Bashir Bayo Ojulari, a seasoned engineer with extensive experience in petroleum, process, and production engineering, has been appointed as the new Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL. Ojulari previously served as the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) from 2015 to 2021. He also held the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Renaissance Africa Energy Company.
The newly constituted 11-member board will be chaired by Ahmadu Musa Kida, a former executive at Total. The restructured board is tasked with conducting a strategic review of NNPCL’s assets to maximize value and efficiency. Additionally, President Tinubu has set ambitious targets for the new leadership, aiming to increase NNPCL’s crude oil refining capacity to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and to reach 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.
This overhaul comes in response to ongoing challenges in Nigeria’s oil industry, including large-scale theft and declining production, which saw output dip below 1 million barrels per day in 2022. The administration hopes that the new leadership will address these issues, restore investor confidence, and drive the commercialization efforts of the industry.
