Adeleye Falade has officially taken the reins as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG. He assumed his duties this Wednesday at the company’s corporate headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. This transition follows the departure of the former MD, Philip Mshelbila, who was recently appointed as the Secretary-General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).
According to a statement from Sophia Horsfall, the General Manager of External Relations and Sustainable Development, which was made available to Reports, Falade is far from a stranger to the energy sector. He brings nearly thirty years of deep industry experience to the table, having worked extensively across the global oil and gas value chain. Most recently, he served as the Managing Director of Brunei LNG Sendirian Berhad, where he led one of the world’s most established gas producers through a period of strategic operational growth.
Falade’s career within the Shell Group has taken him across the globe, with senior roles spanning Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Russia, and Africa. His expertise is broad, covering everything from production optimization and engineering to business improvement and change management. This international exposure is expected to be a major asset as he steers NLNG through an increasingly complex global market. Before his time in Brunei, he also served as the Country Chair for Shell Namibia, providing strategic leadership for the company’s operations and stakeholder relations.
His return to NLNG is a homecoming of sorts. Between 2015 and 2023, he held several key positions within the company, including serving as the General Manager of Production and the Operations Manager. During those years, he was responsible for the safety and reliability of the massive LNG facilities on Bonny Island. He also spent time in the Netherlands as a Regional Asset Management System Implementation Manager at Shell’s headquarters in The Hague, focusing on improving efficiency across global assets.
On the academic front, Falade holds a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Ibadan and an MBA from Henley Business School at the University of Reading in the UK. He is a recognized leader in his field, holding fellowships and memberships with the Nigerian Society of Engineers, COREN, and the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
This leadership change comes at a high-stakes moment for NLNG. The company is currently pushing toward the completion of its Train 7 expansion project, which is set to significantly increase production capacity. Reports notes that Falade joins a management team comprised entirely of Nigerians, a move that reinforces the company’s long-standing goal of building local capacity and promoting indigenous leadership at the highest levels of the energy industry.
