Dangote Refinery Appoints David Bird As New CEO

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has appointed David Bird, former head of Oman’s Duqm Refinery, as its new Chief Executive Officer, in a strategic move to address production challenges and accelerate its expansion across Africa.

The appointment, effective July 2025, marks a significant leadership shift for the 650,000-barrels-per-day Lagos refinery—commissioned last year and already reshaping Nigeria’s fuel supply dynamics.

Bird, who previously served as CEO of Oman’s OQ8 refinery and held senior roles at Shell’s Balau Pokom facility, is expected to leverage his global experience to enhance operational efficiency and broaden the refinery’s crude processing capabilities.

“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,” S&P Global reported on Friday.

Aliko Dangote will continue as chairman of the refining arm and CEO of the wider conglomerate, which spans cement, fertilisers, and sugar refining.

Commenting on his appointment, Bird said: “Our goal is to strengthen Dangote’s footprint beyond Nigeria and into the African continent. As CEO, I will focus on maximising output, improving efficiency, and positioning the group as a global refining leader.”

Since its commissioning in January 2024, the Dangote Refinery has rapidly gained market share, displacing much of Nigeria’s gasoline imports. However, it has faced repeated outages, particularly on its residue fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) unit, which recently ran at 85% capacity.

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Despite these challenges, the refinery exported 220,000 b/d of petroleum products in July 2025, becoming Nigeria’s only active refiner due to outages at state-run NNPC facilities. Exports were dominated by jet fuel (45%) and gasoil (24%), according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data.

Aliko Dangote previously criticised “rent-seeking” trade partners and substandard fuel imports for undermining refinery operations.

Under Bird’s leadership, Dangote plans to:

– Expand the refinery’s capacity to 700,000 b/d

– Build port infrastructure and overseas storage assets in Namibia and other countries

– Launch its own fuel distribution business with 4,000 CNG-powered trucks in August

– List the refining business on both the London and Lagos Stock Exchanges

The company has also shifted to processing a wider range of crude grades due to limited availability of Nigerian oil, supported by a naira-based domestic crude supply agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), which holds a 7.2% stake in the refinery.

Bird is expected to adopt a trading-led strategy, emphasising high utilisation rates, operational flexibility, and efficiency—an approach that previously helped him scale Oman’s Duqm refinery.

The appointment signals Dangote’s commitment to stabilising operations, ramping up production, and establishing itself as a dominant force not just in Nigeria but in the global refining and petrochemical markets.