Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari has been appointed as the new group managing director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday confirmed the appointment of the Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kolo Kyari, as the new Group Managing Director of the corporation.
Mr Kyari comes to the job as the 19th GMD of the NNPC with a rich profile of professional and service credentials.
A geologist, Mr Kyari is known in the oil industry as a crude oil marketer with outfield pedigree in petroleum economics and crude oil and gas trading.
With over 32 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, his tour of duty traversed the entire value chain of the petroleum industry.
“Under his watch, the Crude Oil Marketing Division of the NNPC has recorded noticeable transformation in the management and sales of various Nigeria’s crude oil grades via an infusion of transparency and automation of the processes,” the NNPC said of him in his official profile on its website.
A 1987 Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) degree holder in Geology and Earth Science from the University of Maiduguri, Mr Kyari did his National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) as a Well Site Geologist with the Directorate of Foods, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI) between 1987 and 1988.
Between 1988 and 1991, he worked with the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency before joining the NNPC subsidiary, Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL), where he worked as a Seismic Data Processing Geophysicist in the Data Processing Department.
In 1998, Mr Kyari was appointed the Exploration Geophysicist Production Sharing Contract (PSC) of the National Petroleum Investments Management Services (NAPIMS) until 2004 when he became the Abuja Operations Manager of NAPIMS.
In 2006, he was appointed the Supervisor PSC, Crude Oil Marketing Department (COMD) of the NNPC, from where he rose to the position of Head, and later Manager of Production Contracts Management of the COMD between 2007 and 2014.
Mr Kyari was appointed General Manager Oil Stock Management, COMD where he worked till 2015 before being appointed Group General Manager, COMD and later Nigeria’s National Representative at OPEC.
Kyari, who will be the 19th GMD of the NNPC, will take over from Maikanti Baru, who will be retiring on July 7. Prior to his appointment as the new GMD of NNPC, Kyari served as Nigeria’s national OPEC representative and the NNPC’s crude oil marketing division group general manager.
Baru described Kyari’s appointment as “well deserved”. In a letter, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo said the appointment has come as no surprise and is a testament to Kyari’s exemplary record and exceptional performance.
“We wish you every success in this important and challenging role and many years of service to NNPC and the country,” Barkindo said in the letter.
Established in April 1977, the NNPC conducts exploration, refining, petrochemical, product transportation and marketing activities. The company’s vision, according to its website, is to be a “world-class oil and gas company driven by shared commitment to excellence”.
