David Bird has been appointed Managing Director of the refining and petrochemicals division of Nigerian group Dangote, effective August 1.

An expert with over 30 years of experience in the oil sector, the new CEO brings solid expertise to the Lagos refinery, Africa’s largest. A former Shell executive for 14 years, the CEO oversaw major projects, including the Prelude FLNG, a USD 12 billion investment.

Before joining Dangote, the executive served as CEO of the 0Q8 refinery in Oman, where his expertise in operational management and production optimization was widely demonstrated. The Lagos refinery, which was commissioned in January 2024, currently has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

Despite some technical challenges, the group plans to increase this capacity to 700,000 barrels per day. The new CEO will be tasked with improving efficiency and expanding the group’s presence across Africa.