Bayo Bashir Ojulari, a distinguished Nigerian engineer with over 34 years of experience in the global oil and gas industry, has been appointed as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited effective April 2, 2025.
He succeeds Mele Kyari, who held the position since July 2019.
Ojulari’s extensive career encompasses expertise in petroleum engineering, process engineering, production management, strategic planning, and commercial negotiations. An alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, he earned a degree in mechanical engineering before commencing his professional journey at Elf Petroleum Nigeria as a Fields & Process Engineer. He later joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd. in 1991, where he held various leadership roles across Nigeria, Europe, and the Middle East. Notably, from 2015 to 2021, Ojulari served as the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, overseeing deep-water assets with a production capacity of 320,000 barrels per day and an annual operating cost of $1 billion.
During his tenure at SNEPCo, Ojulari achieved significant milestones, including a 20% increase in production, a 30% reduction in operational costs, and a 40 per cent decrease in capital project costs. His leadership earned the Bonga Asset the prestigious “Asset of the Year” award in 2016. Ojulari also played a pivotal role in negotiating complex commercial agreements, securing new production-sharing contracts, and resolving disputes related to Oil Mining Lease OML-118, underpinning growth projects valued between $6–8 billion.
Ojulari’s appointment comes at a critical time for NNPC Ltd., as the company aims to enhance operational efficiency, restore investor confidence, boost local content, drive economic growth, and advance gas commercialization and diversification. President Bola Tinubu, invoking the powers granted under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, emphasized that the board’s restructuring is crucial for achieving these objectives.
In addition to Ojulari’s appointment, President Tinubu announced a new 11-member board for NNPC Ltd., featuring Ahmadu Musa Kida as the non-executive chairman. Kida, an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University with a degree in civil engineering, previously served as Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services at Total Nigeria and is a former president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation.
The reconstituted board also includes Adedapo Segun as Chief Financial Officer, along with six non-executive directors representing Nigeria’s geopolitical zones: Bello Rabiu (North West), Yusuf Usman (North East), Babs Omotowa (North Central), Austin Avuru (South-South), David Ige (South-West), and Henry Obih (South-East). Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, and Aminu Said Ahmed, representing the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, complete the board.
President Tinubu has tasked the new board with conducting a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and joint venture assets to ensure alignment with value maximization objectives. The administration aims to attract $30 billion in new investments within the oil sector by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030, increase oil production to two million barrels daily by 2027 and three million daily by 2030, and boost gas production to eight billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and ten billion cubic feet by 2030. Additionally, the government seeks to elevate NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels by 2027 and 500,000 by 2030.
Ojulari’s proven track record of delivering results in complex environments positions him as the ideal leader to steer NNPC Ltd. through these ambitious goals and the challenges facing Nigeria’s energy sector.
