Nigeria has secured two top positions at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, and Managing Director of Nigeria LNG Limited, Dr. Philip Mshelbila, have been elected President and Secretary-General of the 2026 GECF Ministerial Meeting respectively.
The announcement was made in a statement by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), Andy Odeh, in Abuja.
NNPC Ltd. congratulated President Bola Tinubu for his pivotal role in the emergence of Nigeria’s candidates, describing the achievement as a historic milestone that reinforces the Federal Government’s gas agenda aimed at using natural gas as a driver of industrial growth and economic development.
Mshelbila, elected during the 27th Ministerial Meeting of the Forum in Doha, Qatar, succeeds Algeria’s Mohamed Hamel as the fifth Secretary-General of the organisation. The GECF remains a leading platform advocating natural gas as a key component of global sustainable development.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., Engr. Bashir Ojulari, commended Mshelbila’s leadership at Nigeria LNG, noting his role in transforming the nation’s gas resources into export-grade LNG, LPG, and condensates.
“NNPC Ltd. is proud of what Mshelbila has achieved at Nigeria LNG, where he has worked tirelessly to transform Nigeria’s vast gas reserves into export-grade LNG, LPG, and condensates, serving domestic needs and global markets in the process,” Ojulari said.
“With this feat, Philip Mshelbila has put Nigeria on the global energy map for good. This shows that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s gas-to-prosperity agenda, aimed at utilising natural gas as the cornerstone of Nigeria’s industrial growth, energy security, and economic transformation, is on the right trajectory,” he added.
Ojulari further expressed optimism that Mshelbila’s leadership at the GECF would usher in greater progress for Nigeria, Africa, and the global gas industry.
He also congratulated Minister Ekpo on his election as President of the 2026 GECF Ministerial Meeting, acknowledging his consistent efforts to harness Nigeria’s gas potential for economic development.
The GECF is an international intergovernmental organisation representing the world’s leading gas-exporting nations. It provides a platform for cooperation and dialogue between gas producers and consumers to enhance the stability and security of global gas supply and demand.
Its member countries include Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Observer members include Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Peru, and Senegal.
Collectively, GECF members account for 69% of the world’s proven natural gas reserves, 39% of marketed production, 40% of global gas exports, and 51% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.
