The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has named David Bird, former CEO of Oman’s Duqm Refinery and ex-Shell executive, as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective July 2025.
Bird takes over the refinery’s fuels and petrochemicals division in a strategic move to address production challenges and support the next phase of growth for the company, which commissioned the world’s largest single-train refinery in 2024.
His appointment, reported by S&P Global, marks a renewed focus on operational efficiency, production scale-up, and regional expansion. Bird brings extensive experience, including leading Duqm refinery’s ramp-up and diversifying its crude slate as head of OQ8.
Speaking on his new role, Bird stated his priorities include increasing output, improving efficiency, and expanding the group’s footprint beyond Nigeria to become a major player across Africa and globally.
Despite recent setbacks—such as unit outages and design issues affecting the refinery’s gasoline production—the company continues to grow its market share, significantly reducing Nigeria’s dependence on fuel imports. The plant processed about 220,000 barrels per day of petroleum products in July, becoming the country’s only active refiner amid NNPC outages.
Chairman and founder Aliko Dangote remains CEO of the wider Dangote Group and will continue to oversee operations across its cement, sugar, and fertilizer businesses. He reaffirmed plans to list the refinery on both the Lagos and London stock exchanges.
The refinery aims to expand capacity to 700,000 barrels per day, develop port infrastructure, and roll out a fleet of 4,000 CNG-powered trucks as it launches its own fuel distribution arm in August.
Bird’s leadership comes at a critical moment, as the group accelerates efforts to overcome early operational hurdles and assert dominance in Africa’s refining and petrochemicals sector.
