By Sandra Chukwunyere
Adeleye Falade has assumed office as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), succeeding Philip Mshelbila, who recently moved to the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) as its Secretary-General.
Falade formally took over leadership of the company on Wednesday at NLNG’s Corporate Head Office in Port Harcourt, marking the beginning of a new phase for one of Nigeria’s leading energy companies.
With close to 30 years of experience in the international oil and gas industry, Falade brings extensive technical and leadership expertise to the role. His career within the Shell Group has seen him work across several regions, including Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Russia and Africa, gaining wide exposure to operations across the LNG and petroleum value chain.
Over the years, he has built strong experience in gas and petroleum operations, production optimisation, engineering management, operational excellence and business transformation. His professional journey also includes working in multinational environments and managing diverse teams within complex joint-venture structures.
Before his appointment at NLNG, Falade served as Managing Director of Brunei LNG Sendirian Berhad, where he oversaw operational performance and strategic delivery within Brunei’s LNG industry. He assumed the position in April 2024.
Earlier in 2023, he was appointed Country Chair for Shell Namibia, providing strategic direction for the company’s activities and strengthening stakeholder relations in the country.
Falade is not new to NLNG, having previously held senior operational roles within the company. Between 2019 and 2023, he served as General Manager, Production, where he led efforts to maintain production reliability and ensure operational safety across the company’s LNG facilities on Bonny Island.
Prior to that, he worked as Operations Manager between 2015 and 2018, overseeing day-to-day plant operations and performance. He later moved to Shell’s headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, where he served as Regional Asset Management System Implementation Manager, leading initiatives aimed at improving asset reliability and operational efficiency across Shell’s global assets.
Falade holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Ibadan and a Master of Business Administration from Henley Business School at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.
He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE) and a registered member of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN). He also belongs to the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).
His appointment comes at a strategic moment for NLNG as the company continues efforts to strengthen gas supply to its liquefaction facilities. Recently, the firm secured long-term Gas Supply Agreements with six third-party suppliers to support feedgas availability for its Bonny Island operations.
The agreements are expected to complement the ongoing Train 7 expansion project, which is nearing completion and is projected to significantly increase NLNG’s production capacity while enhancing Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global LNG market.
Adeleye Falade.
Falade’s emergence also means the company is now run by a fully Nigerian management team, reflecting NLNG’s long-standing commitment to developing indigenous leadership within the organisation.
