The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has made significant changes in its leadership, dismissing the managing directors of its three major refineries: the Port Harcourt Refining Company, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company.
In addition to the refinery heads, other senior officials were also let go, including Bala Wunti, the former head of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), a key subsidiary of NNPCL. Several staff members with less than a year until retirement were also affected.
While NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye declined to comment on the shake-up, sources within the company confirmed the restructuring as part of a broader strategy to revitalize the national oil company.
This move follows a series of high-level changes in early April 2025, when President Bola Tinubu removed Mele Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer and replaced other board members in a bid to improve Nigeria’s crude and gas output.
Sources at the Presidency suggested that Kyari’s dismissal was prompted by concerns over NNPCL’s underperformance in meeting critical production targets.
“The previous management was ineffective,” one official remarked.
“There was a need for fresh leadership that could bring new energy and ideas to the company.”
Under the new leadership, NNPCL aims to significantly increase its production capacity.
The new team, led by Bayo Ojulari as Group CEO, has been tasked with achieving ambitious targets: 2 million barrels per day by 2027, and 3 million barrels per day by 2030.
Additionally, the company is expected to ramp up gas production to 10 billion cubic meters by 2030.
Ojulari, who previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Renaissance Africa Energy Company, is an experienced industry professional.
His firm recently led a consortium of local energy companies in the $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell’s onshore assets in Nigeria.
The shake-up has also affected key figures in NNPCL’s refineries.
Sources confirmed that the managing directors of Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries have been dismissed.
The decision follows continued underperformance, including the failed $897 million revamp of the Warri refinery, which has remained shut since January 2025 due to safety concerns. Similarly, the Port Harcourt refinery has been operating at less than 40% capacity since its relaunch in late 2024.
The restructuring is viewed as necessary to address long-standing issues in the management of Nigeria’s refineries, which have faced criticism for inefficiency and lack of transparency.
Industry experts have called for reforms to ensure the country’s refineries operate at full capacity and contribute effectively to the nation’s energy sector.