Bala Wunti appointed pioneer CEO of World Energy Council Nigeria

Bala Wunti has been appointed the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of the World Energy Council (WEC) Nigeria.

His appointment by the Board of WEC Nigeria marks the establishment of a dedicated executive leadership structure for the organisation in Nigeria, which joined the World Energy Council in 1960.

Wunti has more than three decades of experience across Nigeria’s upstream, midstream and downstream petroleum sectors, including senior roles at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd).

As Chief Upstream Investment Officer of NNPC Upstream Investment Services (NUIMS), he was involved in managing the company’s joint venture and Production Sharing Contract (PSC) portfolios and participated in negotiations with international and indigenous energy companies.

He was also involved in the renegotiation of Nigeria’s Deep Offshore PSCs, which addressed longstanding commercial issues between the country and its contractors.

During his tenure in the petroleum sector, Wunti also led cost-optimisation initiatives that reduced production costs to below $10 per barrel in some operations.

Earlier, as head of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), he was associated with Operation White, a petroleum products monitoring initiative designed to improve transparency, tracking and accountability in the distribution of petroleum products.

Wunti subsequently served as Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer at NNPC, where he was involved in corporate strategy, investment planning and sustainability initiatives during the company’s transition to a commercially focused national energy company.

He has also participated in commercial negotiations involving gas projects, including liquefied natural gas initiatives and gas sales agreements, and has advocated greater domestic utilisation of Nigeria’s natural gas resources.

In the area of oil security, Wunti was involved in initiatives to address crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, including the development of a Command and Control Centre for monitoring critical oil and gas infrastructure.

At the international level, he represented Nigeria on the OPEC Economic Commission Board and participated in the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), contributing to discussions on energy markets, security and gas development.

Speaking on his appointment, Wunti said Nigeria’s energy policy should focus on energy security, affordability, sustainability and national development.

«“Nigeria’s energy future cannot be shaped by ideology alone. It must be grounded in the realities of energy security, affordability, sustainability and national development. WEC Nigeria will bring government, industry, investors, academia and society into a credible, impartial platform that converts dialogue into informed decisions, investable solutions and measurable progress.”»

WEC Nigeria under his leadership is expected to strengthen dialogue among government, industry, investors, academia and other stakeholders, while producing research and analysis on Nigeria’s energy priorities and connecting the country’s energy sector to the Council’s international network.

Wunti is an alumnus of executive programmes at Harvard Business School and the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. Ali Adoyi

Bala Wunti appointed pioneer CEO of World Energy Council Nigeria