Opening Session
H.E. Chief Timipre Marlin Sylva is the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, August 21, 2019, as the Nigerian Cabinet Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. Prior to this current appointment, he has served as the Executive Governor of Bayelsa State of Nigeria for about 5 years. As Governor of one of the largest Oil Producing States in Nigeria, Sylva played a key role in the initiation and implementation of the Amnesty Programme that brought about peace and stability in the Niger Delta region.
Born on the 7th of July, 1964, he had his secondary education at Government Secondary School, Brass and thereafter attended the University of Port Harcourt where he graduated as the best graduating student and valedictorian, with a distinction in English (Linguistics). He was subsequently awarded a Doctor in International Relations (Honoris Causa) by the University of Business and International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland in 2011.
Chief Sylva had served as the member representing Brass constituency in old Rivers State House of Assembly in 1992 where he was the youngest legislative member. He was subsequently appointed as the Special Adviser on Political Matters to the Bayelsa State Governor, in 2000. He performed excellently in this role such that he was headhunted to serve as the Special Assistant to HRM Edmund Daukoru, who was the Nigerian Cabinet Minister of Petroleum Resources in 2003 where he had the dual role of assisting the Minister in his role as the President of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
In his current role as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he has clearly mapped out nine priority areas that include curbing petroleum products cross border leakages, completion of the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme, increasing crude oil production to 3million barrels per day, reducing the current cost of crude oil production by at least 5 per cent, aggressive promotion of the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, promotion of inland basin exploration activities, promotion of deep offshore exploration activities, collaboration with the private sector to aggressively increase domestic refining capacity and working assiduously to support President Muhammadu Buhari in his poise to achieving his target of raising millions of Nigerians out of poverty via job creation.
In a further show of commitment to giving back, he served as a Chair of the Governing Board of the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority, where he presided over policy matters and provided strategic leadership and direction. In 2018, he was charged with the responsibility of providing steer and direction for the Governing Council of the Nigerian Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State, as the Chairman and Pro-Chancellor.
Chief Sylva is married to Alanyingi and they have three lovely children; Taria, Timipre and Pagabio. He is a mentor to several young minds and has committed his time and resources to inspiring and empowering a new class of Nigerians, especially in underserved communities, with essential skills and tools for self-development.
Mr. Kyari was appointed General Manager Oil Stock Management, COMD where he worked till 2015 when he was appointed Group General Manager, COMD and later Nigeria’s National Representative at OPEC.
Mele Kolo Kyari was born on the 8th of January 1965 in Maiduguri, Borno State. He attended Government Community Secondary School Biu in Borno State between 1977 to 1982. Mr. Kyari graduated from University of Maiduguri in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science in Geology.
He has 28 years of working experience in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry. He started his professional carrier as a Field Geologist with the Geological Survey of Nigeria before he joined the services of the NNPC in 1991 as a Processing Geophysicist. He served at the Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL) from 1991 until 1998 where he participated in the delivery of several seismic data processing projects.
In 1998 he was deployed to National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) as Exploration Geophysicist. Where he was engaged in the development and supervised the delivery of key deepwater exploration projects leading to the discovery of major deepwater field in the Niger Delta. Mr. Kyari served as head of NAPIMS Operations office in Abuja from 2004 until 2007 when he was deployed as the head Production Sharing Contracts Management in Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD). Mr. Kyari exceptional leadership and analytical skills enabled the development of robust basis of determining entitlements of all parties in the Production Sharing and Joint Venture arrangements and especially secured disputed Federation entitlements from the PSCs.
In recognition of his dedications to duty and effective delivery of all task assigned to him, Mr. Kyari was appointed as General Manager, Crude Oil Stock Management in 2014 and subsequently became the Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division of the NNPC in 2015.
Under his watch, the Crude Oil Marketing Division recorded remarkable transformation in the management and sales of the various Nigeria’s crude oil grades and Natural Gas liquids through the institution transparency, automation of processes and business conduct with world class standards. This led to optimization of revenues accruable to the Federation and timely recovery of proceeds of sales.
Mr. Kyariis further credited with the following key achievements that has overall positive impact on the fortunes of the NNPC and the Nigerian Federation:
a) Establishment of world class systems and processes for the sale and disposal of Nigerian Crude oil and Natural Gas liquids leading to optimization of values and transparency of transactions conducted on behalf of the Corporation and the Federation at large.
b) Led a team that proposed and managed the Direct Sales and Direct Purchase (DSDP) arrangement of Petroleum products supply from 2016 to date, a process that saved the Nation $1 billion in 2016 alone compared with the previous crude SWAP arrangements of the Corporation.
c) Lead various work teams in developing the Petroleum Industry Bill that was presented to the 7th National Assembly that sought to entrench an equitable petroleum operations regime in the country.
d) Contributed immensely in resolving the various disputes with International Oil Companies (IOCs) on the performance of the Production Sharing Contracts leading to potential exit from national contingent liabilities in the excess of $9 billion dollars being claimed by NNPC’s partners.
e) Projected positive National image at various international fora by presenting papers that highlight the enhanced and transparent National dealings in petroleum trades by the NNPC. Mr. Kyari is the Oil and Gas Champion for the Open Government Partnership for Nigeria.
A Fellow of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (FNAPE), Mr. Kyari has also attended several highlevel leadership training programmes both at home and overseas.
Mr. Kyariwas appointed Nigeria’s National Representative to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Economic Commission Board 1n 2016 where he provides leadership and participates in engagements relating to Crude oil and Gas production and associated market issues.
Mr. Kyari was appointed the 19thGroup Managing Director of the NNPC by President Muhammadu Buhari with effect from 8th July 2019.
His hobbies include reading, writing, voluntary works and farming.
Engr. Auwalu Sarki Born in 1965, the DPR helmsman and Chairman PTI governing council had a good record of sterling academic accomplishments before he joined the DPR. He was at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, from where he bagged a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering in 1989. Thereafter, he proceeded to the Bayero University, Kano where he earned a post-graduate Diploma in Management in 1993.
Done with BUK, but certainly not done with acquiring knowledge, Auwalu moved to the Chevron Academy where he was awarded a certificate in Oil and Gas Handling, Facilities Maintenance and Troubleshooting in 1999.
Auwalu’s education was not restricted to Nigeria. He was also at PETRAD Norway, where he got a Diploma in Drilling Risk Assessment in 2000. Two years later, he got another Diploma in Petroleum Policy and Management from the same institution. In 2006, Auwalu obtained a Diploma in Offshore Technology from PetrolSkill USA, and in 2007, he returned to the PETRAD Norway and earned yet another Diploma in Petroleum Policy and Operations. In 2017, the new DRP boss was at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos.
Obviously, these academic acquirements did a yeoman’s job in preparing Auwalu for an industry where he has since been a major player.
He started his working life at the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) in Lagos as a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, serving as process engineer in charge of sewage and water treatment plant between 1989 and 1990. From 1990 to 1992, Auwalu was with the Kano State Ministry of Industry and Commerce where he was able to develop industrial inspection module for Kano State.
He also successfully initiated the concept of small-scale technology in business incubation, While there, he reviewed a number of industrial proposals and oversaw their implementation. Some of such industrial concerns were Kuma Sheet Glass Company, Intravenous Fluid Production Company, Surgical Gloves, Syringes and Needle Production Company and the Fertiliser Blending Plant.
At the Kano State Environmental Planning and Protection Agency, where he worked as environmental engineer and project manager at various times between 1992 and 1998, the new DPR boss was instrumental to the construction of the Central Industrial Effluent Treatment Plant for Challawa, Sharada and Bompai Industrial Estates, Kano River Pollution Project, and Wase Earth Dam Pollution Control Project, among others.
Since his movement to the DPR, Auwalu has held some key positions in the organisation. Indeed, in the statement announcing him, the Presidency hailed him as a driving force of the agency. Having started out in the agency in 1998, Auwalu rose through the ranks to the position of assistant director before his elevation as director of the organisation.
As principal chemical engineer between 1998 and 2002, he successfully supervised a number of collaborative projects of the DPR with oil giants such as Chevron and Shell, among others. He was also, at various times in his 21-year stint at the DPR, assistant chief chemical engineer, chief chemical engineer, deputy manager, manager, safety control manager, upstream facilities as well as assistant director.
An engineer registered by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the DPR helmsman is a member, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), member, Society of Petroleum Engineers and associate member, Institute of Chemical Engineers, United Kingdom.
As DPR director, Sarki Auwalu is no doubt a round peg in a round hole. And not too many people would be surprised that he hit the ground running, literally, immediately after his appointment.
Just days after he was named DPR director, the agency, under his leadership, unveiled a set of new guidelines of operations for the upstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. The regulatory document, one gathered, is part of efforts geared towards limiting the cost of oil production in the country by five per cent, as demanded by the federal government and to make companies focus more on exploration.
Some of the new guidelines are Work Programme and Budget Automation, Rig and Vessel Work Automation, Drilling/Completion/Re-entry Work Process Automation and the Nigerian Oil and Gas Contract Advertising Portal (NOGCAP).
Shauna Noonan is the director of artificial lift engineering for Occidental Petroleum Corporation, based in Houston, where she directs the company’s efforts in artificial lift system performance globally. Prior to joining Oxy in late 2015, she worked worldwide on artificial lift projects and technology development at ConocoPhillips and Chevron for over 22 years. She has authored or co-authored more than 25 technical publications on the subject of artificial lift and is a frequent speaker at industry events.
She has been an avid SPE volunteer in many roles since first serving as a student section officer. She served on the SPE International Board of Directors as the Technical Director for Production and Operations from 2012-2015. She has driven the development of industry standards and recommended practices for artificial lift systems while serving as chair for ISO and API committees, and has received industry awards for her contributions to the discipline.
Noonan holds a BS degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Alberta. She is the proud mother of two daughters.
Mr. Alex Nachi Tarka, (FNAPE) is the President of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE)
Alex is the current Manager of OML-98 Assets of the NPDC – NNPC in Benin-City. He has about 30 years of oil & gas experience and started his career as a Trainee Wellsite Geologist in Elf Nigeria Limited, Port-Harcourt in 1990 under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program. He was employed by NNPC in 1992 as a Wellsite Geologist and posted to NPDC. He has held several key positions of increasing responsibilities across the NNPC group including; Production Geologist NAPIMS, Technical Assistant to GM, JV-Oil Operations Division NAPIMS, Deputy Manager Evaluation NAPIMS, Deputy Manager Geological Studies and later Geophysics, Frontier Exploration Service-NNPC and Manager, Exploration and also Manager , Shell JV Assets at NPDC.
Mr. Tarka is an Old Boy of the prestigious Barewa College, Zaria. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree (BSc) in Geology from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria and a Postgraduate degree (PGD) in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Benin (UNIBEN).
Alex is a Certified Petroleum Geoscientist (CPG), registered Geoscientist by the Council of Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists (COMEG), Fellow of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (FNAPE) and a Council Member, Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS).
He is also an active member of American Association of Petroleum Explorationists (AAPG), Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and Society Exploration Geophysicists (SEG).
He is happily married with a daughter and a son. His hobbies include swimming, reading, listening to music and charity work.
Nicolas Odinuwe is the Group Managing Director & CEO of Zitadel Limited, one of leading technical service companies operating in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry. He is also the Chairman of Zitadel Medicals & Diagnostics & Executive Chairman Global Lifting Services Limited. He sits on the boards of Zitadel Digital solutions Limited, Safetrak Technical Systems Limited, and Virtual Gas Limited.
Nicolas Odinuwe has over three decades management & experience in the field as QHSE consultant and in the areas of Waste Management, Engineering, Technical & Digital Support services and with investments in upstream, midstream, as well as Medical & FMCG. He has guided recent expansions of the group into Mozambique, Tanzania, Rwanda & Uganda. Nicolas is very passionate about indigenous development and empowerment of competent Nigerians with capacity to excel for self-reliance for growth.
Nicolas Odinuwe holds an M.sc from the University of Port Harcourt, a Science graduate of University of Science & Technology Port-Harcourt, an Alumnus of Georgetown University School of Business. He has gained memberships, accreditations, certifications by local and international bodies; SPE, IASP, ISWA, IOD, NIM, IMLS, NES (fellowship)
Nicolas was given special recognitions by Guild of medical Directors Abuja (2015) Medical Laboratory science council Abuja (2018) United states Embassy, Lagos (2017). Nicolas Odinuwe is the Chairman of PETAN and a 2004 Captain of Air Assault Golf Club Port-Harcourt (2004-2005)
Engr. Babagana Mohammed was born on 10th October 1964 in Maiduguri, Borno State. He attended Yerwa Central Primary School from 1970 to1977 and Government Science Secondary School Gashu’a now in Yobe State from 1978 to 1982. During which he held various positions such as Class Captain, Kitchen Prefect, Health Prefect, Games and Sport Prefect, School Football Captain, House Prefect etc.
He immediately proceeded to Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri where he obtained his National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and was offered employment by Chad Basin Development Authority as Technical Officer (Electrical). His undying quest for further studies and to enhance his professional career, made him to enrol for a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maiduguriand eventually graduated in 1992. and rose to the position of AssistantChief Mechanical Engineer at the 30MW New Marte Power Station.
In order to seek for more challenging job, he movedto NNPC/NETCO in 2002 as Senior Engineer (Piping) and has participated in many design projects in the Oil and Gas Sector amongst which are – NLNG Train 6, Agbami FPSO, Bonga FPSO, MOBIL EAP Project, MOBIL MIPS Project, CNLProduced Water DisposalProject, NNPC Refineries Rehabilitation Project, NNPC Refineries Technical Auditetc. He has attended many specialized courses home and abroad on Stress Analysis, Piping and Plant Layout Design, Project Managementetc. and held many positions of increasing responsibilities from Design Engineer to Project Lead Engineer.
He was a founding member of NSE Victoria Island Branch and was elected Chairman in 2012. He served as Vice President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers for three (3)consecutive years, 2014, 2015 & 2016 and was elected Deputy President at the AGM/Conference in 2017. He led the membership drive of the Society to an enviable level, which earned him a letter of commendation from the President of the Society, Engr. Otis Anyaeji, FNSE on 29thJuly 2016.
He has facilitated the employment of more than 200 Engineers in the Oil and Gas sector and also mentored more than 120 Young Engineers in many states in Nigeria.
A detribalised Nigerian and a born leader. He has travelled far and wide, and is married to Mrs. Aisha Babagana Mohammed and blessed with …six…children.
AWARDS:
- The Borno State Governor’s Award for the BEST STUDENT in Agriculturein 1981.
- Lagos Chapter of Nigerian Institute of Mechanical Engineers Award for Meritorious Service to the Society and Humanity 2011,2013 and 2017.
- The Nigerian Institute of Mechanical Engineers Special Award for Meritorious Service to the Society 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
- The Nigerian Society of Engineers Special Award for service from Lagos, Zaria, Apapa, Katsina, Damaturu, Egbin, Enugu, Onitsha, Owerri, Victoria Island, Yola, Kaduna, Aba, Ibadan etc.
- Presidential Merit Award for Diligence and Utility in Multi –various functions in the service of the Nigerian Society of Engineers 2016.
- The Nigerian Institute of Mechanical Engineers, Lagos Chapter Service Award for 2017.
- Commendation letter from the Nigerian Society of Engineers 2016.
- The Nigerian Society of Engineers, Lagos Branch award for Excellence 2018
STEWARDSHIP TO THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS (NSE)
- Branch Secretary, NSE Victoria Island Branch (2007-2009)
- Vice Chairman, NSE Victoria Island Branch (2009-2011)
- COREN Inspector in Victoria Island Inspectorate 2010
- Chairman, NSE Victoria Island Branch (2011-2012)
- Chairman, Lagos State NSE Chairmen Forum 2013 to 2014
- Member, Conference Planning Committee 2012
- Member, Finance and Budget Monitoring Committee 2011
- Member, Presidential Investiture Committee of the 28th President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr. M.B. Shehu, FNSE 2011
- Member,Nigerian Content Committee 2012 and 2013
- Member, Presidential Investiture Committee of the 29th President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr. Ademola Isaac Olorunfemi, FNSE 2013
- Member, Presidential Investiture Committee of the 30th President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr. Otis O.T Anyaeji, FNSE 2015
- Member, Board of Directors of NSE Ventures 2011 to 2015
- Member, NSE Group Dynamics Competitions for Divisions 2014, 2015 and 2016
- Vice President, Professional Development) NSE 2014 and 2015
- Vice President,Membership Services 2016
- Member, NSE ONWARD STRATEGIC VISION 2016
- Chairman, Engineering Regulation Liaison and Legislation Board 2016
- Chairman, EGM Planning Committee 2016
- Chairman, Membership Service Board 2016
- Chairman, Task on Food,Entertainment and Transport 2016
- Member, Engineering Regulation Liaison/Legislation Board 2017
- Chairman, Finance, Administration, Budget & Investment 2018
Plenary Session I
Aderonke Onadeko is a serial entrepreneur and a multi sectoral professional with about 30 years of experience in oil and gas trading, marketing and operations and consulting for large corporate organizations and government.She is the Principal Consultant of DRNL Consult Ltd UK and Owner Manager of Delt-R Company Limited.She is considered as one of the go to person in the oil and gas sector, her experience is built from the early days of oil and gas in Nigeria.Her focus in the industry has rested on the Nigeria oil sector value chain issues, Resource development and Management, the Petroleum Industry Bill, downstream sector issues, development of Nigeria’s refining capacity, human capacity building, information dissemination, governance and legislature in the oil sector.She is a member of the Institute of Petroleum now Energy Institute UK and she acts as a consultant to FOSTER (Facility for Oil Sector Transparency and Accountability), an initiative of the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).
She is an Expert Advisory Panel member of NNRC (Nigeria Natural Resources Charter) active in the Nigeria oil and gas sector.
She acted as Country representative for both BNP Paribas and Natixis – International, Corporate & Investment Banking. Both financial institutions are engaged in financial services to the oil sector. The portfolios were oil and gas related in Nigeria.She acted as a Senior Consultant to the Governor of Ogun State on Energy (Power) from June 2016 – May 2019. She led audit of the moribund Olokola FTZ development project. She was the lead consultant for Ogun State 5MW Independent power plant project with a power purchase and BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) arrangement.
She sits on the board of several publicly quoted and not quoted companies.A Chevening Scholar, Archbishop Tutu Fellow, cyclist and a runner, foodie, gardener, farmer and an adventure traveller.
Pearl is a qualified solicitor and member of the Law Society of England & Wales. She graduated with a LLB (Hons.) from the University of Bristol and is also a Chartered Secretary (ICSA). She has since experienced remarkable professional growth in the last fifteen years whilst building her legal career within UK and Nigerian corporate structures.
In 2002, she began working at the Crown Agents UK who providespecialist and multidisciplinary services ininstitutional development, international trade & procurement and finance. Her role in the legal department of the organization, saw her provide legal advice and support to the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in the development and administration of a number of notable funds including the Private Infrastructure Development Group – set up to facilitate private investment in the infrastructure needed to help alleviate poverty in developing countries and the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIM)– a $4 billion investment facility designed to accelerate the availability of funds to be used for health and immunisation programs in 70 of the world’s poorest countries.
She built a strong working relationshipwith the donors which included country donors like the UK, French and South African governments and private NGOs like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. These two funds in addition to her work on the Emerging African Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) influenced her decision to seek employment primarily with organizations who combined their corporate pursuits with a clear and effective social purpose.
After a period with City of London firms Denton Wilde,SapteLLP and Stephenson Harwood LLP working within their corporate departments, she relocated to Lagos, Nigeria in 2009 and joined the Legal team at Sahara Group as the third member of the then budding department. She threw herself enthusiastically into the team work that was necessary to grow and nurture the unit’s human capital and widen the remit of its function to the international energy group as it spread inexorably across the energy value chain in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Pearl’s vast professional experience within the upstream, downstream and midstream sectors of the oil and gas industry, corporate law and international development culminated in her appointment as the Group’s Director forGovernance and Sustainability – a role which her professional pursuits and private passions seemed to have been leading up to in the period before hand.
She is married with a daughter.
Mr. Chikezie Nwosu is an experienced senior executive with over 29 years local and international experience in the oil & gas industry vis-a-viz management of oil & gas projects, new business development and divestments and acquisitions.Mr. Nwosu is a strong energy professional with a proven track record of excellence in managing technical and non-technical business and project risks and opportunities, having worked with leading international oil and gas companies including Shell International E&P B.V. as a Global Principal Technical Expert and Asset/ Subsurface Development Manager (New Business Development), Qatar CO2/EOR, Shell Petroleum Development Company ofNigeria (SPDC), Shell Nigeria Exploration and Development Company (SNEPCo) as Regional Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa in Petroleum Engineering and Senior Front-End Project Manager.
Mr. Nwosu held Senior Executive positions in SINOPEC-Addax Petroleum Nigeria Limited, as Deputy Managing Director (Technical) and a member of the Board of Directors of both Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria Limited (APDNL) and Addax Petroleum Exploration Nigeria Limited (APENL) and for Tolea Energy B.V. the Netherlands as Executive Vice-President for Business Development and Africa.
He is a first class graduate of Nuclear Engineering Science, holds an M.Sc with distinction, majoring in Theoretical Nuclear Physics, and is a member of several professional organizations including the Society of Petroleum Engineers (2017/2018 SPE Nigeria Council Chairman and member Board of Trustees),Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) and currently serves on the Advisory Council of the Nelson Mandela Institute’s African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Abuja.
Effective November 21, 2019 Mr. Nwosu became a Director on the Board of Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited and Waltersmith Refining & Petrochemical Company.
A 1985 graduate of Economics from the Suffolk University Boston Massachusetts, USA, Ms. Nike Kolawole holds a Masters in Business Administration Degree from Durham University Business School, Durham England. She is a registered member of the Securities and Futures Authority (SFA), now FSA and won the Dean’s Awards during her undergraduate studies for two years running in 1982 – 1983.
She started her career in Investment Banking working with a number of International Banks such as Merrill Lynch, Citibank, Goldman Sachs and lastly, Credit Suisse, where she rose to the level of Vice-President prior to her transition to the Oil & Gas Industry. As a member of the Special Finance Group in Merrill Lynch, Ms. Kolawole was responsible for settling Eurobonds traded in Holland, France, USA, Switzerland and ECU. Her expertise in investment banking, Private Banking, Asset Management and Credit Risk Analysis acquired from working in these global banks continued to be invaluable in her immediate past role of exploring viable funding sources and options available for NNPC’s bankable projects from the ever-dynamic global financial/lender markets.
She Joined the Finance Department of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 2007 as the Supervisor, Upstream Projects Finance and rose through the ranks to her current role as the Group General Manager, LNG Investment Management Services (LIMS). Prior to her recent appointment, she was the Group General Manager Finance, NNPC, a position she has occupied since September 2018. She also held other positions in the Finance Division of the F&A Directorate such as General Manager, Finance, Manager, Upstream Finance and DM, Upstream Finance. The combination of her external exposure and NNPC’s internal drive to maximize value from further exploration and development activities shaped her excellent leadership qualities and skills in a manner that constantly exploits the value of her contribution to NNPC and the Nigerian nation, in an outstanding manner.
Ms Nike Kolawole has in the last few years worked assiduously within the Finance Team to successfully package a number of challenging financing initiatives that positively impacted the Nigerian oil and gas industry resulting in significantly improving the image of the Corporation. These heavy lift issues were tackled headlong as the team forayed into new frontiers with the sterling contributions of Ms Kolawole as the then GM, Finance co-piloting the affairs of the Finance Division. She has won several awards for her participation in several high profile debt financings such as the African Oil and Gas Deal of the Year Award for the 2012 RDP Funding, amongst others.
Specifically, the following selected initiatives exemplify the successes mentioned above:
a) The execution of the Cash Call Arrears Repayment Agreements which culminated in the pre-2016 accumulated Cash Call arrears to the JVs of $6.8bn negotiated downwards with a 25% haircut to $5.1bn which has been substantially repaid including that for Mobil fully repaid.
b) This singular effort of addressing the JV industry funding challenges evolved into the creation of a sustainable Self-Funding Model (SFM) which restored the confidence of the JV partners to resume investments in the Upstream Sector of the oil and gas industry. This continues to excite the financing markets/lender community that are now more eager to lend into Nigerian oil and gas Projects. The SFM when fully implemented will result in ramp up of production to 570kpd and 3.6bscfpd of liquid (oil + condensate) and gas (AG + NAG) respectively by 2025.
c) The introduction of an innovative and novel Contractor Financing Model to grow NPDC’s reserves and production. This new Contractor Financing structure is governed by a Funding and Technical Services Agreement (FTSA) for a selected number of NNPC’s wholly-owned subsidiary, NPDC’s bankable projects.
d) The $2.5bn Pre-payment Financing of NNPC’s share of Capex by NLNG for the NLNG T1-T6 gas supply projects which has been approved by Mr. President to meet NNPC’s obligations towards the development of Upstream Gas Projects required to meet the capacity utilization of 22mtpa of NLNG and 5 mtpa of natural gas liquids (LPG and Condensate) for its six NLNG processing Trains.
e) In NNPC, she has either driven or been part of the team that has amongst others, influenced the Industry positively by developing the strategy and framework for providing external financing to all NNPC’s entities, its JV relationships and monitoring performance of financings, which have over the last 12 years’ raked in foreign direct investments (FDIs) in excess of $15.00 bn. The Federation stands to earn well over $37bn through the life of these projects. Notably, several deals valued at a cumulative sum over $7bn have been closed out since her appointment as the GGM, Finance.
Consequent upon her appointment as the GGM LIMS, Ms. Nike Kolawole is as always, poised for more collaborative and mutually beneficial business relationships that will yield positive results to the nation and indeed, all stakeholders in line with current Executive Management drive for Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence.
Amb. Henry Olufumi Macauley is the Chairman and CEO of EnergyAfric Developers International Ltd, a company active in the Energy and Power space in Nigeria and Africa.
He bagged a BEng Hons at the famous Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone and an MBA from Knightsbridge University, and additionally a certificate from the Oxford Princeton Program.
A former Minister of Energy and Power in Sierra Leone for 4 years, he excelled by more than doubling Installed Capacity, Electricity Produced and Energy Access during his 4-year tenure. Prior to that, he was appointed and served for 6 years as Ambassador (High Commissioner)Plenipotentiary from Sierra Leone to the Federal Republic of Nigeria with accreditation also to the Republic of Angola, Republic of Benin, Republic of Cameroun, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa Republic and ECOWAS.
Amb. Henry Olufumi Macauley has over 25 years of experience in private sector oil and gas leading the last company, Panaf Petroleum, to run the Sierra Leonean Refinery as well as being the CEO for previous Energy and Maritime companies in The Gambia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
Amb. Henry Olufumi Macauley created the Sierra Leone-Nigeria Economic Commission as well as the Nigeria Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce; he was also the president of the National Association for Indigenous business in Sierra Leone. He is a member of the Sierra Leone Institute of Engineers and a Council Member of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce.
He is fluent in English and French while also having a good working knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese and German. He has acquired several accolades during and after service such as Minister of the Year which he won 3 years in a row, two-time winner of the African Leadership award, ECOWAS (ECREE) award, Distinguished Leadership Award, Diaspora Focus Award for Nation Building and many others.
Amb. Henry Olufumi Macauley is also a philanthropist having supported a lot of charities and educational foundations across Africa with more focus on West Africa.
Plenary Session II
Mr. D.V.G. Edwin holds a Graduate and Masters Degree in Engineering from the Madras University in India and he is also a Chartered Engineer. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IITM, Holland.
He started his career in 1978 and he grew up to the level of Managing Director in 1989, in India. During his career in India in Industrial Management, his areas of focus were industrial engineering, cost reduction, human capital management, general management and project management. He had executed industrial projects funded by the World Bank.
Mr. Edwin joined the Dangote Group in 1992 as a General Manager and was responsible for two textile mills under the control of the Group. He was promoted to Group General Manager in 1994 and Executive Director (Projects) in 1998. He has executed almost all the projects of the Group including the spinning mills and the textile processing factory, the packaging materials plant, the flour mills, the pasta plant, the cement terminals, the cement plants, the noodles plants, etc.
In 2000, he became the Executive Director (Industries and Projects) and he was vested with the responsibility of supervising all the plants in the Group including the sugar refinery, cement terminal, salt plant, flour mills, pasta plant, packaging materials plant and textile mills. In 2002, he was moved to the position of Group Executive Director (Business Development) to handle all the new projects. He was the pioneer Managing Director/CEO of Obajana Cement Plc from 2004 to 2006.
Having joined the Dangote Group when it was in the threshold of entering into manufacturing activities, Mr. Edwin deployed his wealth of experience to the Group in its growth. He was formerly the Group Managing Director / CEO of Dangote Cement Plc, and is currently the Group Executive Director (Strategy, Capital Projects & Portfolio Development).
Engr. Mustapha Y. Yakubu is the Chief Operating Officer, Refineries & Petrochemicals (COO, R&P) of NNPC. He joined the services of the Corporation as Senior Civil/Structural Engineer in 1992 and rose through the ranks to become the Managing Director, National Engineering & Technical Company Limited (NETCO) and later, the COO, R&P in July 2019.
Engr. Mustapha holds a Bachelor of Engineering (B. Eng.) degree and Masters of Science (M.Sc.) degree, both in Civil Engineering from the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria in 1985 and University of Lagos in 1988 respectively.
He started his working career with Bayero University, Kano in the Department of Civil Engineering in 1986 as a Graduate Assistant. He also worked as Project Engineer with Ove-Arup & Partners, a firm of consulting Engineers, Lagos between 1989 and 1991 prior to his joining NNPC in 1992.
His previous engineering design and construction management experience while in NETCO involved a broad band of projects activities in the oil and gas industry from Conceptual and Front End Engineering Design (FEED) to Detailed Engineering Design (DED), through to Fabrication and Construction supervision.
He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE) and Corporate Member of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN). Engr. Mustapha Yakubu is happily married and blessed with Children. His hobbies include fitness and travelling.
Dr. Olayiwola Francis Fatona is a Petroleum Geologist with over forty years of oil industry experience. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology at the University of Ibadan (Nigeria) in 1973. He obtained both the Masters of Science (1976) and Doctorate (1980) degrees in Petroleum Geology and Sedimentology from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of London.
He is the Pioneer Managing Director of the Niger Delta Group. He is also the Chairman of Geotrex Systems Limited, a firm of Exploration and Production Consultants which he joined after seven years stint in the Petroleum Engineering and Exploration Departments of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).
A Past President and a Fellow of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists, he is also a Certified Petroleum Geologist (CPG) of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG). He is the 6th and 2010 recipient of the prestigious, highest ranking “Aret Adams Award” of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists.
Layi was a Finalist in the 2011 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Series (West Africa Region) Master Class Category. As a yearly global, search, identify and recognize competitive exercise for Entrepreneur, Founder Executives, the award entitles him as an alumni of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Global institution.
He was the 2012 recipient of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS) NMGS/DPR/Chief M.O. Feyide Award in recognition of Excellent and consistent contribution in the general areas of Petroleum Engineering and Geology.
As Managing Director of the Niger Delta group; he actively and in a hands-on-manner drove and pioneered the concept of marginal Oil Field development. He brought to production in 2005 the first ever- and currently one of the few-producing Marginal Oil fields in the country.
‘Layi and his lean Management team at Niger Delta have brought a new dimension to the commercialization of gas and adding refining to the value chain for Marginal Field Operations and operators. At Niger Delta, he pioneered the monetisation of gas resources by building the first ever Gas scrubbing plant with full value capture from LPG, Propane and Dry Gas production through total elimination of gas flaring.
The company he spearheads also set a milestone by the grant of a License by the Hon. Minister of Petroleum to Operate a Refinery at the Ogbele Marginal Field in Rivers State.
The Company – Niger Delta Exploration & Production Plc remains today an icon, setting many landmark milestones and as a model having evolved as a fully integrated Independent Nigerian Oil & Gas Development institution.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree (Honoris Causa), by the Osun State University, in November 2018, in recognition of his multiple Entrepreneurial and inspiring contributions to the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry.
‘Layi is a passionate family oriented person, married and blessed with three sons.
Mr. Anibor Kragha is currently the Executive Secretary of the African Refiners & Distributors Association (ARA), the first ever pan-African organization for the Downstream oil sector in Africa, a position he has held from April 2020 to date. Mr. Kragha served as the President of the ARA from March 2019 to March 2020. Prior to the ARA, he was the Chief Operating Officer for the Refineries & Petrochemicals Directorate of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) from April 2016 to July 2019. Before then, he served as Group General Manager, Treasury for NNPC from September 2015 to March 2016.
Before joining NNPC, Mr. Kragha spent over ten years working for Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN), an affiliate of ExxonMobil, culminating in serving as the Upstream Treasurer for ExxonMobil Affiliates in Nigeria from July 2012 to September 2015. He also had various roles of increasing responsibility in ExxonMobil Upstream Africa Audit, MPN’s Commercial and Treasurer’s groups in Nigeria, the ExxonMobil Development Company and Corporate HQ Affiliate Finance department in the U.S.
Mr. Kragha holds four degrees – a Bachelor in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota (1996), a Masters in Plastics Engineering from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell (1998) and two Masters degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2003. At MIT, Mr. Kragha was a Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) Fellow via which he secured both a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering and aMaster of Business Administration (MBA).
Mr. Chikezie Nwosu is an experienced senior executive with over 29 years local and international experience in the oil & gas industry vis-a-viz management of oil & gas projects, new business development and divestments and acquisitions.Mr. Nwosu is a strong energy professional with a proven track record of excellence in managing technical and non-technical business and project risks and opportunities, having worked with leading international oil and gas companies including Shell International E&P B.V. as a Global Principal Technical Expert and Asset/ Subsurface Development Manager (New Business Development), Qatar CO2/EOR, Shell Petroleum Development Company ofNigeria (SPDC), Shell Nigeria Exploration and Development Company (SNEPCo) as Regional Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa in Petroleum Engineering and Senior Front-End Project Manager.
Mr. Nwosu held Senior Executive positions in SINOPEC-Addax Petroleum Nigeria Limited, as Deputy Managing Director (Technical) and a member of the Board of Directors of both Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria Limited (APDNL) and Addax Petroleum Exploration Nigeria Limited (APENL) and for Tolea Energy B.V. the Netherlands as Executive Vice-President for Business Development and Africa.
He is a first class graduate of Nuclear Engineering Science, holds an M.Sc with distinction, majoring in Theoretical Nuclear Physics, and is a member of several professional organizations including the Society of Petroleum Engineers (2017/2018 SPE Nigeria Council Chairman and member Board of Trustees),Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) and currently serves on the Advisory Council of the Nelson Mandela Institute’s African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Abuja.
Effective November 21, 2019 Mr. Nwosu became a Director on the Board of Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited and Waltersmith Refining & Petrochemical Company.
Plenary Session III
She is the Managing Director/CEO of Millenium Oil and Gas Company Limited (MOGCL). She is an accomplished Lawyer, who was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1979. She is part of a group of professionals that founded Emerald Energy Resources Limited, an indigenous oil and gas company, (Operator of OML141) where she worked as Executive Director, Corporate and Legal Services until she was appointed Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of MOGCL in July 2015.
She was the principal/founding partner of the law firm Cecilia Okafo & Associates (now Sapphire Partners), a full service corporate and litigation firm, where she gained a wealth of experience in international transactions and local legal practice. The firm represented many foreign oil service companies in a range of matters both legal and commercial and also acted for them on various areas of law practice including contractual, regulatory and policy issues.
Mrs. Aqua Umoren was one of the pioneer legal practitioners of telecommunications in Nigeria. She acted as external solicitor to Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and represented NITEL in its first major telecommunications Joint Venture, Mobile Telephone System (MTS) where she eventually served as Company Secretary. She also served on the Federal Governments’ Ministerial Committee to implement the Open Skies Agreement. She joined EERL in 2001.
Mrs. Aqua Umoren has a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) Degree from the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, BL from the Nigeria Law School, Lagos and a Masters in Comparative Law Degree from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, USA. In addition to Millenium Oil and Gas Company Limited and Emerald Energy Resources Limited, she sits on the Board of Directors of Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited and Ventures and Trusts Limited.
Cecilia Aqua Umoren is a member of the Energy Institute and is on the Board of Governors of Petroleum Club Lagos and a Past President and Trustee of International Women’s Society (IWS).
C. Susan Howes, PE, PHR, is Vice President of Engineering at Subsurface Consultants & Associates, LLC, in Houston, Texas, where she maintains technical quality standards for consultancy, recruitment and training services. A Petroleum Engineering graduate of the University of Texas (UT), Howes joined Anadarko Petroleum where she held roles of increasing responsibility over 25 years in reservoir engineering, business development, corporate engineering and HR. In 2007, Howes joined Chevron as Manager of the Horizons Program, and later served as Reservoir Management Consultant at Chevron. Howes is recognized an industry leader in petro-technical talent attraction, development and retention. She has coauthored numerous papers and articles on the topics of ethics, uncertainty management, risk management, and talent management. Howes currently chairs the UT Hildebrand Department of PGE Distinguished Alumni Committee, serves on the UT PGE External Advisory Board, serves on the Colorado School of Mines PE Department Program Advisory Board, serves on the Board of Directors for the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council and serves on the US Advisory Council for the SPE. Howes received the SPE DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal, is an Honorary Member of SPE, and serves as a SPE Distinguished Lecturer for 2019-20
Eberechukwu Oji joined ND Western as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) in March 2020.
He has over 25 years’ experience in the Oil and Gas sector. A Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and a Chattered Engineer with The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN armed with a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) Warwick University, UK, a Masters in Technology (MTech) Petroleum Engineering, Curtin University, Australia, a Masters in Engineering (MEng) Electrical & Electronics Engineering and a Bachelors in Engineering (BEng) Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Universities of Benin and Federal University of Technology Owerri respectively.
Prior to joining ND Western, his Fields of experience included: Exploration and Production Oil and Gas accountability from Reservoir to Export Point operations as Chief Operating Officer (COO), Neconde Energy Limited, Upstream and Midstream Oil & Gas Senior executive leadership, Operations Management of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) plant accountable for the 6 Train Operations, Regional Discipline Manager for Maintenance for Shell Companies in Nigeria and Gabon. Asset Manager for SPDC Central Hub Asset with over 1.2bscf/d of gas production and 50kbopd oil producing facilities. Major Project Management as Operations Readiness Lead for Offshore, Maintenance, HSE and Logistics in Kashagan Project, Kazakhstan. Global Field Development Consultant with significant front-end field development experience with projects in the Netherlands, UK, Norway, Singapore, Australia, United States, Bangalore etc. His fields of experience cover: Major Projects delivery, Front-end Field Development, Field Operations, Facility Maintenance, Well Intervention, Gas plant operations, Compressor station operations, Asset Management, New Business Development, Country Entry, Commercial Deal negotiation, Community Relations management, Government Relations management amongst others.
Silfat Olabimpe AFOLABI is a Partner in KPMG in Nigeria and leads the Compliance and Internal Control unit for the KPMG entities in Nigeria.
She is a seasoned professional with over 18 years of work experience in tax consultancy and risk-based solutions i.e. Enterprise Risk Management framework, Risk Assessments, Internal Control/Contract Compliance Assessments, Corporate Governance and Board advice.
Bimpe has excelled at risk-based analysis and assessment techniques within the Nigerian member firm and has championed compliance procedures and in the process, proffered effective client service management which led to her appointment as an international compliance auditor across the global network of the Big 4 firm.
Her graduate degree was in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Ibadan in 2000. She has further acquired a Global Executive Master’s in Business Administration from the prestigious IE Business School in Spain. She is a Chartered Accountant, an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
In her spare time, she loves building Legos with her children, spending time with her family and reading novels. In addition, she volunteers for many charities and not-for-profit organizations, particularly those with focus on empowering young women.
Iyke joined Shell about 15yrs ago as a Petrophysicist and has worked for Shell in Nigeria, United States and United Kingdom. His upstream experience cut across Exploration, Field Development, Asset Management and Business Planning. Iyke is passionate about talent development and gender equality at the workplace.
Iyke is currently Portfolio Business Opportunity Manager, Bonga Main/North Field and has previously worked in the following capacities; Exploration & Development: Opportunity Maturation, Reserves Booking & Auditing, Wells, Reservoir & Facilities Management Production Operations and Management; Field Development and Management, LNG & Gas Development ,Economics, Business Planning and Portfolio Strategy Non-Operated Ventures Management (Joint Ventures and Unitization Scenarios) Government, Regulator and Partner engagement and Compliance Management
Iyke Obtained an MSC in Engineering Physics from CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, GÖTEBORG, SWEDEN and an MBA in Strategic Management & Finance Major from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA