Nigeria LNG Limited on Friday held a send off ceremony in Abuja to mark the end of the tenure of its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Philip Mshelbila.
Mr Mshelbila will leave the company on December 31, to assume office as Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Doha, Qatar.
Following the approval of the NLNG Board of Directors, Adeleye Falade has been appointed as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
He is expected to assume duties in April 2026.
Mr Falade will join NLNG from Brunei LNG, where he currently serves as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
The ceremony was attended by members of the NLNG Board, executives from shareholder companies, public sector officials, representatives of the energy industry, members of NLNG management and staff representatives.
Speaking at the event, NLNG deputy managing director, Olakunle Osobu, said Mshelbila assumed office at a time when the company faced several challenges, including the impact of COVID 19, flooding that affected gas pipelines, vandalism and force majeure declarations by gas suppliers.
He added that global developments following the Russia Ukraine war also affected the energy sector.
Mr Osobu said Mshelbila focused on business sustainability, diversification of operations, emissions control and safety.
He disclosed that under Mshelbila’s leadership, NLNG expanded its feed gas base beyond shareholder joint venture supply sources.
“Understanding that NLNG needed multiple supply sources, especially with current challenges, Mshelbila championed a bold and strategic pivot to expand NLNG’s feed gas base beyond the shareholder joint venture supply chain. Under his leadership, NLNG negotiated and signed long term Gas Supply Agreements with six third party gas suppliers in August 2025. These agreements are expected to deliver about 1,290 million standard cubic feet per day of gas to NLNG,” Osobu said.
He added that the company pursued emissions control and environmental practices and implemented a transformation programme aimed at long term sustainability.
Also speaking, NLNG General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Sophia Horsfall, said, “Thank you for your selflessness, for the steadiness of your leadership, for the clarity of your vision, and for the values that guided your every step. You led with humility, yet you inspired greatness. You carried the weight of challenges with calm resolve. You charted a path toward sustainability long before it became fashionable.”
In his response, Philip Mshelbila thanked NLNG shareholders, the Board of Directors, staff and industry partners for their support during his tenure.
He said he would apply the company’s values in his new role at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, where he will promote natural gas as a reliable energy source.
As Secretary General of GECF, Mshelbila is expected to support engagement between gas producing and gas consuming countries and contribute to discussions on the global gas market.
