From Shell to NNPCL: Meet Bayo Ojulari, CEO of Nigeria’s State-Owned Oil Firm
Following over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas sector, Bayo Bashir Ojulari has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The announcement, made on April 2, 2025, comes as part of a comprehensive leadership overhaul at NNPCL by President Bola Tinubu. According to the President, the restructuring was necessary to achieve several key objectives.
“President 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 enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialization and diversification,” a statement from the presidency read.
As Ojulari takes over from Mele Kyari, here’s what you should know about the new NNPCL CEO.
A Mechanical Engineer Who Rose Through the Ranks in the Oil Industry
Ojulari gained admission to study Mechanical Engineering in 1985 at Ahmadu Bello University, one of Nigeria’s oldest universities, which has produced industry leaders such as former NNPC boss Maikanti Baru, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo, and several other notable figures in the oil and gas sector.
His journey in the oil industry began immediately after his graduation in 1989 when he joined Elf Petroleum Nigeria as a Field and Process Engineer.
However, it was at Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), one of the biggest oil firms in the world, that Ojulari saw a steep rise in his career, not just in Nigeria but across the globe.
His journey at Shell began in November 1991 when he joined as an Associate Production Technologist. Over the next 24 years, he climbed the ranks, serving in various strategic roles, including Head of Planning, Economics, and Budgeting at SPDC Nigeria. In November 2015, he was appointed Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), a position he held for five years and nine months.
Though he left Shell, he remained active in the energy sector, founding BAT Advisory and Energy Company Nigeria Ltd, a consultancy firm where he served as Board Chairman.
Just four months before his appointment as NNPCL CEO, Ojulari assumed the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Renaissance Africa Energy Company. He shared his new role in a LinkedIn post only a week ago.
Challenges Ahead for Ojulari
Ojulari steps into the leadership of NNPCL at a crucial time when Nigeria’s oil industry faces mounting challenges. Chief among them is the need to ramp up oil production, which has been fluctuating due to operational inefficiencies and underinvestment. Additionally, he will have to tackle the persistent issue of oil theft, which costs the country billions of dollars annually.
President Bola Tinubu noted some of these challenges that Ojulari and the new board would face in his statement, stressing that “board’s restructuring is crucial for enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialisation and diversification.”
