By Kunle Akogun
Following the overhaul of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to enhance operational efficiency, restore investor confidence, and make the company more commercially viable, a new Group Managing Director has been apppointed for the national petroleum conglomerate. He is Engr Bashir Bayo Ojulari.
A seasoned engineer with expertise in petroleum, process, and production engineering, with over three decades experience in the oil industry, Engr Ojulari was, until his new appointment, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company. His Renaissance recently led a consortium of indigenous energy firms in the landmark acquisition of the entire equity holding in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), worth $2.4 billion.
A scion of the legendary Ojulari family of Oke Ode in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Engr Ojulari began his career as the first Nigerian process engineer at Elf Aquitaine before joining Shell Petroleum Development Company in 1991.
He also worked with Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) where served as the Managing Director from 2015 to 2021.
Hajji Beshy, as he is fondly called by his friends and classmates, graduated with a First Class honours degree (Mechanical Engineering) from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in1989.
A fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE), Engr Ojulari was a member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigeria Council) from 1998 to 1999.
The new NNOC Group MD has held several managerial positions in Europe and the Middle East, specialising in petroleum engineering, process engineering, production engineering, and health and safety.
He also served on the Board of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), overseeing onshore and offshore petroleum engineering, technical integration of development, well engineering, and project engineering.
The seasoned technocrat and consumate administrator is bringing into his new assignment over three decades of impactful experience in the oil industry.
Watchers of the nation’s upstream and downstream sectors are of the opinion that based on the trajectory of his brilliant academic records and wealth of cognate experience, Engr Ojulari would take the Nigerian oil sector to greater heights.
I wish him divine wisdom and all-round knowledge to pilot the affairs of NNPC successfully.
*Akogun writes from Ilorin