Ojulari who hails from Kwara state has been pencilled down by President Bola Tinubu for a long time as a worthy successor of Mele Kyari for the post of Group CEO of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

In January this year, when information was rife that Tinubu would likely appoint him as the GCEO of NNPCL, some northerners complained that he was not from the core north. They argued that Kwara was not core north and that since Kyari was from Borno state, another core northerner should succeed him.

He has over 34 years experience in the global oil and gas industry, spanning management of petroleum asset acquisition & divestments, exploration, field development, production management, strategic planning, economics, investment evaluation and commercial negotiations.

Ojulari is a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University with a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering, and thereafter began his career at Elf Petroleum Nigeria as a Fields & Process Engineer.

He joined Shell and spent over 24 years in various leadership roles across Nigeria, Europe, and the Middle East.

He rose to become the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) from 2015 to 2021.

Ojulari oversaw SNEPCo deep-water assets churning out a production capacity of 320,000 barrels per day and an annual operating cost of $1 billion.

Under him the Bonga Asset  was honoured with  “Asset of the Year” award in 2016.

Under his leadership, SNEPCo achieved a 20 percent increase in production, a 30 percent reduction in operational costs, and a 40 percent reduction in capital project costs.

He’s a cut fit for the job especially coming from the private sector.