David Bird is Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, which operates the Dangote refinery in Lekki, Lagos, described by the company as Africa’s largest single-train refinery, with a capacity of about 700,000 barrels per day. He took up the role in July 2025 and serves on the company’s board, overseeing operations as the refinery supplies petroleum products to Nigeria and to export markets.

Before joining Dangote, Bird was Chief Executive Officer of OQ8, the joint venture between OQ Group and Kuwait Petroleum International that operates the 230,000 barrels per day Duqm refinery in Oman. He previously held senior roles at Shell, and his international career has included work in Oman, Australia, Singapore, the United States, South Africa, France, the Netherlands and Japan.

Bird is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

His focus areas include safe, reliable and efficient refinery operations, crude oil supply, fuel distribution and the role of refining in Africa’s industrialisation. The company plans to add a further 700,000 barrels per day of fully complex refining capacity by the end of 2028, and Bird has said that long-lead equipment has been procured and construction contracts are being awarded. The refinery is also preparing a public share offer.