Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, a consummate oil and gas expert took the mantle of leadership as the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited on April 2, 2025.
He left no one in doubt in his maiden address that he was going to consolidate on his predecessor’s successes while prioritizing aggressive growth of Nigeria’s oil and gas production, operational efficiency and transparency.
On a lighter note, OJULARI in Yoruba Language literally means ” it’s only the face we are seeing” or better still “pretence”.
However, in the last one year, Nigerians, stakeholders and indeed the international community can see, not only his face, but his heart and also body language.
His initial agenda were among others: Governance and Accountability, Energy Transition and Reforms, Operational Turnaround, Continuity and Support from both the Government and stakeholders.
At the official handing over ceremony at the NNPC Towers, he pledged to rely on the support of existing management and staff, urging close cooperation to meet ambitious national targets.
The respected technocrat set the tone for maximizing production by taking the bull by the horn on low output, focusing heavily on NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) assets to ramp up national revenue streams.
In his keynote address at the NOG Energy Week last year, Ojulari highlighted commitments to deep-water projects, refinery rehabilitations, and expanding the NNPC Retail footprint across the West Africa sub-region.
Also, from his earliest days in office, his administration focused on corporate governance frameworks and publishing historic audited financial results to the admiration of government and Nigerians who are equally shareholders.
One year down the line, Engr. Ojulari and his cooperative team have made measurable progress in Strengthening operational performance, restoring financial discipline, growing production, repositioning key businesses, and advancing organizational renewal.
In the aspect of growing Gas Production and Monetisation, NNPCL, under Ojulari’s watch closed the year 2025 at a record gas production level of 7.5 bscf/d, thereby reinforcing gas as a strategic growth pillar for the company and the nation.
NNPC also executed multiple strategic gas transportation and supply agreements to deepen domestic gas utilization apart from expanding market penetration across key industrial sectors.
In the last one year, the company successfully advanced critical gas infrastructure projects, including the River Niger crossing for the AKK and OB3 pipelines apart from launching the Gas Master Plan 2026 and strengthened strategic partnerships to accelerate investment across LNG, CNG, and domestic gas infrastructure.
Through his sagacity and his management’s pragmatic approach towards growing oil and condensate production, the company recorded a five-year high average of 1.62 million barrels per day, just as NEPL achieved an all-time peak production of 368,000 barrels per day in April 2026, reflecting stronger asset management and field optimisation.
Ojulari, in keeping to his promise, resumed full monthly payment of royalties and taxes into the Federation Account from July 2025, reinforcing transparency, fiscal discipline and institutional credibility.
In the last financial year 2025, the company recorded an unaudited profit of N5.7 trillion, representing a 6.4% increase over 2024 performance.
In addition, NNPC refinanced all internal crude-backed long-term obligations, significantly improving liquidity management, reducing structural leverage exposure, and enhancing financial resilience.
Ojulari has this to say on NNPC’s financial statement: “These results are more than numbers; they are a validation of our strategic direction and the dedication of every member of the NNPC team. This performance strengthens our foundation to fuel Nigeria’s economic growth and energy security, and it reaffirms our commitment to delivering sustained value for all our stakeholders.”
Most importantly, the company advanced strategic cost leadership initiatives with cost reduction of $3.4bn through contract restructuring, commercial optimisation and tighter capital allocation discipline.
On the refineries, the company put up portfolio reviews, valuation processes, and technical partnership engagements aimed at repositioning refinery assets for long term sustainability and competitiveness.
Within the period under review, the company also expanded crude trading activities and strengthened shipping partnerships to optimize commercial performance across the downstream value chain.
Meanwhile, Ojulari’s feat in the upstream space is quite huge, especially in accelerating Deepwater Investments.
Under his watch, NNPC progressed BONGA South-West Aparo toward Final Investment Decision (FID) through the securing of key investment incentives.
He successfully concluded OPL 245 negotiations and executed a new PSC agreement with ENI, enabling advancement of the Zabazaba-Etan deepwater project.
NNPC equally advanced BONGA North project execution, significantly ahead of schedule in collaboration with SNEPCO, and Signed the PPL 2000/2001, the first exploration PSC post PIA, and continued maturation of the Owowa development strategy while expanding the Company’s upstream growth.
In all of these, he has been purposeful, strategic and intentional.
It is expected that Ojulari and the Executive Management of NNPC ltd maintain the focus and elevate the Nigerian oil and gas industry to the desired level as they embark on this transformative leadership.
Ewache Ajefu, a journalist and public Affairs Analyst writes from Abuja.
