Expert Extols Komolafe’s Vast Industry Experience To Lead Upstream Commission

BY VICTOR BUORO – The new Chief Executive Officer of the Upstream Petroleum Commission (UPC), Mr Gbenga Komolafe, comes fully prepared to handle existing and emerging challenges in the country’s petroleum industry, an oil and gas expert, Mr Aliyu Galadima, has said.

According to Galadima, with many years of leadership at various levels in the oil and gas industry as well as three degrees in different fields of academic research, Komolafe has the pedigree to perform and leave an indelible in the sector.

Similarly, reports indicate that the 57-year-old engineer from Ondo State has been heavily involved in strategic policy formulation and implementation in the oil and gas industry where he clearly distinguished himself.

Galadima further stated that as Managing Director, Nigeria Pipeline & Storage Company (NPSC), Komolafe initiated the reform and business model for maintenance and operations of NNPC pipelines and depot infrastructure efficiently on a private Joint Venture (JV) basis.

In a treatise titled: “The PIA and burden of key appointments”, Galadima said as an accomplished engineer, lawyer, and technocrat, Komolafe has operated at the highest levels of the downstream and upstream sectors, adding; “The industry has ample records of how Komolafe’s steering of various downstream regulatory agencies yielded reforms that facilitated efficiency and attendant huge monetary value for Nigeria.”

He stated that as a Fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers, Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria, COREN and member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Komolafe’s expertise as a seasoned engineer and lawyer is required at this time to give the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) the needed impetus.

The Oil and Gas expert said the PIA needs professionals of stellar qualities like Komolafe with an exceptional grasp of how to translate the potential benefits of the PIA into actual wins for Nigeria and Nigerians.

Furthermore, he said the new UPC boss is associated with initiating and coordinating various policies that generated and saved the Nigerian federation several billions of dollars in different capacities and national assignments he had handled in the past years.

Besides serving as Group General Manager, Special Duties at the NNPC; Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division; and Executive Director (Commercial) Pipelines and Petroleum Marketing Company (PPMC); Komolafe also has stints as the General Manager, Operations, Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF); and General Manager, Operations of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), among several others.

A recipient of various awards, Komolafe, aside from being an accomplished engineer, has degrees in law, industrial and labour relations, is an expert in institutional process study and designs to curb revenue leakages and attainment of optimum national productivity.

As Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division, he facilitated optimum revenue for the Nigerian federation and performed transparently as acknowledged by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in its report within the period he served in office.

It is also on record that serving as Executive Director, (Commercial) between 2012 – March 2014, Komolafe initiated strategic sales and retail plans and coordinated the implementation of set revenue targets from downstream supply and distribution of refined petroleum products for nationwide consumption.

At PEF, the UPC new helmsman also initiated operations policies for effective petroleum products supply and bridging to the inner parts of the country and price equalisation management nationwide and pioneered the successful implementation of electronic tracking of petroleum products distribution nationwide.

Industry watchers observed that this development resulted in the transparent bridging of petroleum products and price equalisation management that saved hundreds of billions of Naira for the government through institutional process expertise.

In addition to successfully coordinating seamless supply of petroleum products nationwide with multiplier sectorial effect in the Nigerian economy as General Manager, Operations in the PPPRA, Komolafe was some point the Assistant General Manager (Head, Kaduna Zone), Assistant General Manager, Planning Research & Development and Branch Manager, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Warri.

He attended the University of Benin (UniBen); and the Nigerian Law School where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Law (LL.B) and BL respectively. He also attended the University of Ibadan, where he got a Master of Science in Industrial & Production Engineering in 1998 and the same institution where he bagged a Master of Science in Industrial & Labour Relations.

At the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Komolafe obtained a Bachelor of Engineering and has attended several courses, including the International Petroleum Management Certificate Programme, Boston U.S.A, International Gas Business Management Certificate Programme, Offshore Training Conference (OTC), Houston, Texas and Petrotec Conference, among several others.

With several research publications to his credit, Komolafe is a winner of the Presidential merit Award, Nigeria Society of Engineers; served as a Member, Presidential Investigative Committee on Crude Oil Theft (2015); and Member, Technical Committee on Downstream Petroleum Industry Deregulation (2009-2011).