Osagie Okunbor, the country chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria and managing director of Shell Petroleum Development Company, has been named the Dr. Alirio Parra Lifetime Achievement winner in the Nigerian oil and gas sector for 2022.

At the 21st Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, which was held last week, Okunbor was announced as the awardee. 

The honor was established in memory of the late Alirio Parra, who served as Venezuela’s petroleum minister and was also one of the founding members of OPEC. 

His lifetime achievement award is the most distinguished acknowledgment of the growth of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

Okunbor was chosen after being nominated by conference goers who took part in online voting.

Okunbor now has the privilege of joining a renowned group of previous winners, which also includes Dr. Kachalla Maikanti Baru, a former group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation who passed away in 2020.

Okunbor, a University of Benin Business Administration graduate, has over 30 years of expertise in the sector and worked his way up the ladder to become the managing director of SPDC. 

He serves as the organization’s board chairman as well.