Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited has appointed former head of Oman’s Duqm Refinery, David Bird, as its new Chief Executive Officer.
He replaces Devakumar V. G. Edwin.
According to a report by S&P global, on Friday, Bird now heads the refinery’s petroleum and petrochemicals division as part of the move to overcome production challenges and advance its next wave of expansion.
It was learnt that the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote had earlier informed members of staff through an internal memo on July 29.
The new Dangote Refinery CEO is described as a seasoned Oil & Gas Executive with 25 years of global experience spanning the entire value chain of the industry, from upstream and LNG to refining and integrated operations.
Bird worked with Shell for 20 years holding strategic roles across the Netherlands, France, South Africa, Singapore, the USA, and Australia, contributing significantly to operational transformation and performance delivery.
He later joined one of the largest independent Oil & Gas operators in Australia and Southeast Asia, Santos, leading Operations and Supply Chain functions across onshore, offshore, LNG, and refining.
Not too long ago, Bird served as CEO of OQ8, a major oil-refining joint venture between Oman Oil Company (OOC) and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), where he oversaw complex refinery operations and strategic growth initiatives.
The new Dangote Refinery CEO holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College of London, and an MBA from Stanford University – Graduate School of Business, USA.
According to Dangote, the new CEO, with his deep technical expertise and global leadership experience, “is well positioned to lead the Petroleum Refinery into its next phase of growth, operational excellence, and long-term value creation.”
The S&P Global stated that effective from July 2025, the former Shell head of operations at its Balau Pokom refinery stepped in as CEO of the Dangote Group’s fuels and petrochemicals business, which commissioned the world’s largest single-train refinery last year.
The report read, “Nigeria’s Dangote Group has appointed the former head of Oman’s Duqm refinery as CEO of its petroleum and petrochemicals business as it strives to overcome production challenges and advance its next wave of expansion.”
But it noted that the Dangote Group founder Aliko Dangote, will remain as chairman of the refining business and CEO of the Dangote conglomerate, which is also active in cement, fertilizers and sugar refining.
Speaking on his appointment, Bird said his focus would be to advance the group’s footprint beyond the Nigerian market and across the African continent.
As CEO of the refining business, he will be responsible for ensuring maximum output and efficiency for the refinery, and aims to make the group a leader in the global market, a LinkedIn update noted.
The appointment comes after a string of unit upsets and “design issues” that have stalled the ramp-up process of the 650,000-b/d refinery, while its leadership has called out a hostile business environment for challenging its operations.
