Mele Kolo Kyari was appointed the 19th Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), on 8th July 2019. A highly committed and visionary leader with an uncanny ability to solve problems creatively, exercise good judgement and work well with his management team, the NNPC, under his leadership, is on a trajectory towards global excellence and becoming an integrated energy Corporation. From partnering with EITI, promoting deregulation of the downstream sector, introducing cost discipline by setting a $10 per barrel unit operating cost, rehabilitation of ailing refineries, pipelines and depots, deepening domestic gas utilisation to public disclosure of NNPC accounts, the first in the Corporation’s 43 year history, he has, within one year, demonstrated an unalloyed commitment to Transparency and Accountability.

He started his professional career as a Field Geologist with the Geological Survey of Nigeria before joining the services of the NNPC in 1991 as a Processing Geophysicist. In his early years in the industry, he was engaged in the development and delivery of key deepwater exploration projects leading to the discovery of major deepwater fields in the Niger Delta. He also enabled the development of robust basis of determining entitlements of all parties in the Production Sharing and Joint Venture arrangements and especially secured disputed Federation entitlements from the Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs).

In 2015, as Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division, NNPC, he transformed the management and sales of the various Nigeria’s crude oil grades and Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) through transparency, process automation and business conduct to world-class standards. This led to the optimization of revenues accruable to the Federation and the timely recovery of sales proceeds. He ensured Bulk Supply of Petroleum Products to the nation and remitting the total cost of Federation Crude Oil to the Federation account through the Direct-Sales, Direct Purchase (DSDP) initiative.
Mele Kyari also contributed immensely to the resolution of various disputes with International Oil Companies (IOCs) on the performance of the Production Sharing Contracts leading to potential exit from national contingent liabilities. As the Oil and Gas Champion for the Open Government Partnership for Nigeria, he has advocated for transparent national dealings in petroleum trade by the NNPC.
In 2016, he was appointed as Nigeria’s National Representative on the Economic Commission Board of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) where he provided leadership and participated in engagements relating to Crude Oil and Gas production and associated market issues.

A winner of the Prestigious African Leadership Magazine’s 2020 “Special African Business Leadership Award”, Kyari is currently a member of the Nigeria Mining and Geosciences Society as well as a Fellow of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (FNAPE). He is a graduate of the University of Maiduguri with a Bachelor of Science in Geology. His hobbies include reading, writing, voluntary works and farming.