Nigeria names ex-Shell executive Bayo Ojulari to lead state oil firm NNPC

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Bayo Ojulari, a former Shell executive, to head the state-owned oil firm NNPC as the country seeks to raise oil production and revitalise its refining capacity, the presidency said on Wednesday.

After ending costly subsidies and twice devaluing the naira currency in his first year in office, Tinubu has shifted his focus to overhauling the state oil firm to maximise its contribution to the country's revenue.

Ojulari replaces Mele Kyari, with the appointment effective immediately, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said in a statement. Ojulari was most recently chief operating officer at Nigerian consortium Renaissance Africa Energy Co, which owns Shell's former onshore subsidiary in the country. Prior to that he was head of Shell Nigeria's exploration unit.

Tinubu also replaced the board of NNPC, appointing an 11-member team to drive reforms and boost efficiency in the oil sector.

Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer with output of 1.8-million barrels per day, relies on the commodity for around half of government earnings. Nigeria under Tinubu aims to boost its oil and gas output, targeting 2-million barrels per day of oil and 8-billion standard cubic feet per day of gas by 2027, with further ambitions to reach 3-million barrels per day and 10 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2030.

Tinubu has also tasked the new NNPC leadership board with raising the company's oil refining output to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027, and 500,000 barrels per day by 2030, despite its four 445,000 barrels per day capacity refineries being idle due to maintenance.