Dangote Refinery names ex-Shell executive David Bird as CEO

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has appointed David Bird, the former CEO of Oman’s Duqm Refinery, as the new Chief Executive Officer of its fuels and petrochemicals business.

His appointment, effective July 2025, comes at a critical time as the refinery aims to overcome production issues and expand operations.

Bird, a former Shell executive who headed operations at its Balau Pokom refinery, was named CEO following a series of operational challenges that have affected the full ramp-up of the 650,000-barrels-per-day facility, which is the world’s largest single-train refinery.

He also recently participated in the Dangote Leadership Development Program Graduation Ceremony, signaling his active involvement with the company.

A report by S&P Global described the move as strategic, aimed at addressing design flaws and unit outages that have hindered optimal production.

Despite these setbacks, the Dangote refinery has significantly disrupted Nigeria’s fuel import dependency, capturing a substantial portion of the domestic market since it was commissioned in January 2024.

Aliko Dangote will remain chairman of the refinery and CEO of the wider Dangote Group, which also includes cement, sugar, and fertilizer businesses.

Bird is expected to bring his experience in refining strategy and feedstock flexibility, particularly from his time at OQ8, to reposition the Nigerian refinery for both local dominance and global competitiveness.

In his remarks, Bird stated that his priority will be to boost output and extend the company’s footprint across Africa.

His strategy reportedly aligns with increasing crude grade flexibility due to limited local supply and a trading-led model aimed at achieving high efficiency and profitability.

The refinery’s performance has been impacted by repeated outages, especially with its residue fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC), which only began test runs in late 2024.

Although operations hit 85 per cent capacity in July 2025, reports of sustained downtimes have raised concerns.

Company officials have denied plans for a complete turnaround maintenance this December.

In the meantime, the refinery has continued exporting products, especially jet fuel, gasoil, and residual fuel, with jet fuel making up 45 per cent of exports in July, according to S&P Global data.

With NNPC facilities down, Dangote emerged as Nigeria’s only active refiner last month, exporting about 220,000 barrels per day.

Looking ahead, the company is planning to expand the refinery’s capacity to 700,000 barrels per day, develop port infrastructure, and establish international storage facilities in Namibia and other locations.

It also intends to roll out its own fuel distribution business in August using 4,000 CNG-powered trucks.

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Additionally, Dangote Group has expressed plans to list the refinery on both the Lagos and London Stock Exchanges as part of its long-term growth and public ownership strategy.