The Nigerian subsidiary of the Anglo/Dutch oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), on July 20 announced the appointment of Basil Omiyi as its new managing director with effect from September 1, 2004.
He is the first Nigerian to hold the post. He replaces Chris Finlayson. Nigeria has also been made the regional headquarters of Shell Exploration and Production for Africa, to oversee the company’s operations in Gabon, Angola, Cameroun and other African countries.
“I am honoured to be the first of what I expect will be many Nigerians to hold the post. I look forward to the opportunities and challenges which lie ahead,� Omiyi said.
Omiyi who joined the company in 1970 as a Well-site Petroleum Engineer, after obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Ibadan, is the current SPDC production director and has worked for the company in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. He was appointed to the board of the SPDC in 1996, when he took up the position of general manager, relations and environment.
Omiyi also managed the company’s 1996-97 transformation program which led SPDC on the road to increased asset focus and accountability, and the re-organization of the company to meet steep local and international challenges. For a man with diverse skills, Omiyi, who had prior to that been an engineer, his entire career succeeded in transforming the external relations.
In 1999, he was appointed external affairs director and in 2002, he became production director, where he concentrated his efforts on building long term sustainable platform for improved focus on asset integrity management and excellence in production operations.
