Dangote Refinery Appoints Ex-Shell Executive, David Bird As CEO

August 1, 2025

Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has appointed David Bird, the former head of Oman’s Duqm Refinery, as new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

A report by S&P global on Friday said, Bird heads the refinery’s petroleum and petrochemicals division in a strategic move to overcome production challenges and advance its next wave of expansion.

According to S&P Global, which reported the development on Friday, the appointment took effect 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 move comes at a time when the refinery is striving to surmount production challenges and advance its expansion plans, which include a nationwide distribution of fuel in Nigeria.

It was gathered that Bird, a mechanical engineer, has worked with Shell for about 20 years. “He is a mechanical engineer. A graduate of Imperial College, London. He has an MBA from Sandford University,” the source said.

According to the source, Aliko Dangote, the chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, will retain his position as chairman of the refining business while continuing to serve as CEO of the broader group, which operates cement, fertiliser, and sugar refining subsidiaries.

Bird is the former head of Oman’s Duqm refinery. He previously serves as SVP of production operations and supply chain at Santos Ltd.

As vice-president of Prelude FLNG at Shell, he led the world’s first floating LNG facility and chaired Shell Australia’s RAP board. The oil and gas professional also served as head of operations at Pulau Bukom in Singapore, Shell’s largest refinery.

Making comment on his latest appointment, Bird said his focus would be on expanding the group’s footprint beyond the Nigerian market and across the African continent energy sector.

In a LinkedIn update cited by S&P, he added that he would be responsible for driving maximum output and operational efficiency to position the company as a global market leader.

The 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity refinery was inaugurated by former President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2023.

Since it was commissioned in January 2024, Dangote has quickly grown its market share in the Nigerian fuel sector, displacing large volumes of gasoline imports that the country once relied on.

The Refinery, on September 3, 2024, affirmed the commencement of petrol production, stating that the product meets global quality standards and can compete with products from any part of the world.