President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed new Group Executive Directors for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to fill critical vacancies which currently exist in the Corporation. The new appointees and their portfolios are Mr. Ian Gregory Udoh – Group Executive Director, Refining and Petrochemicals, Dr. Dan Iwoene Efebo – Group Executive Director, Corporate Services, Ms. Aisha Mata Abdurrahman – Group Executive Director, Business Development.
Others are Mr. Adebayo Ibikunle Ibirogba -Group Executive Director, Engineering and Technical and Dr. Joseph Thlama Dawha -Acting Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production.
Mr. Ian Gregory Udoh, is a native of Akwa Ibom State and has been the Managing Director of Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemicals Company Ltd. (PHRC) since November 2012. He has considerable experience of managing the nation’s refineries having previously held the position of Executive Director, Operations at both the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company Ltd. (KRPC) and the Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemicals Company Ltd. In addition, Mr. Udoh has served as a General Manager in the Refining and Petrochemicals Directorate of NNPC.
Dr. Dan Iwoene Efebo is currently the Group General Manager, in charge of the NNPC’s Human Resources Division. He was previously General Manager, Human Resources, Brass LNG. He hails from Bayelsa state.
Ms. Aisha Mata Abdurrahman is a native of Kogi State and has been the Managing Director of Nikorma, NNPC’s shipping subsidiary, since March 2011. Ms. Abdurrahman has also served as Managing Director of Hyson, an NNPC trading subsidiary, and as Executive Director (Services) of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC).
Mr. Adebayo Ibikunle Ibirogba, a Chemical Engineer, is currently the Group General Manager, Engineering in the NNPC’s Engineering and Technology Directorate, and hails from Ogun State. He has also served as General Manager (New Business), General Manager (Gas Development), and Group General Manager, Greenfield Refineries. In 2010, Mr. Ibirogba became the first African to be elected to the Board of Directors of the World LP Gas Association.
Dr. Joseph Thlama Dawha who replaces Mr. Abiye H. Membere as Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production, has been the Managing Director of Integrated Data Services Ltd (IDSL) since 2005. He is an indigene of Borno State and has served the Corporation diligently, over the years, in various capacities, in the upstream and downstream sectors of the industry.
Through a reliable source, THE CITIZEN gathered that Engr. Abiye was relieved of his duty as the GED, Exploration and Production, because of his perceived closeness to the Rivers State governor, Dr. Rotimi Amaechi, as he hails from Kalabari in Rivers State. Not only that, it was also alleged that information on crude production and sales proceeds which the opposition party was exploiting to criticise the government was leaking from his office.
Another source stated that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources was not quite happy with him on his inability to drive the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
The source added that the budget, which was close to a billion naira, for the execution of the PIB passage project was fast depleting without a commensurate success.
His sack nevertheless came to many industry watchers as a surprise because of his perceived closeness to the corridors of power and apparent empowerment; and when he was asked to drive the passage of PIB with a huge budget attached to it, many believed he was a defacto GMD.
Engr. Membere served as Managing Director of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited (NPDC). He also served as the Executive Director of Operations at the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited (NPDC) and in several posts in the services of NNPC.
His last assignment before joining NPDC was General Manager of Projects at the Corporate Headquarters, Abuja, with oversight of management responsibility for Downstream Projects of NNPC ensuring compliance to Due Process, procedures and evaluation of contracting processes among other key responsibilities.
Engr. Membere also has over 24 years of Oil and Gas industry experience on drilling as well as an extensive knowledge of field applications of classical reservoir engineering. He has excellent knowledge of: Matured/Green Field development and reservoir management, Horizontal well technology, Reservoir surveillance, Economic evaluations skill and Gas development and commercialization skills among others.
He holds a B.Sc in Petroleum Engineering and an M.Sc in Engineering with specialization in Reservoir Engineering techniques.
