H.E. Chief Timipre Marlin Sylva

Nigeria

Minister of State for Petroleum

As a brilliant graduate of Bachelor of Arts with distinction from University of Port Harcourt, who also received a valedictorian as the best graduating student, Chief Timipre Sylva started his career as Executive Secretary of National Minority Business Council, creating opportunities for grassroot minority communities. He was later elected as a Legislature into Rivers State House of Assembly under NRC, being the youngest member of the State Assembly. He went on to serve as State Financial Secretary of the former ruling party and was later appointed as Political Adviser to Bayelsa State Governor. He later went to serve as Special Assistant to Nigeria’s former Minister of State for Petroleum. Because of his exceptional leadership qualities, Chief Sylva was elected as Governor of Bayelsa State and he performed creditably with numerous milestone projects including 52 Link Roads, over 8,000 youth jobs, a new Law School campus, residential estates, a college of education and the establishment of basic schools across communities. In 2019, Chief Sylva was appointed Minister of State for Petroleum by the President of Nigeria and has made giant strides in the oil and gas sector since assuming office. As the Minister of State for Petroleum, he contributed immensely to the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which defied over two decades of passage difficulties and also the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that led to the incorporation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the establishment of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and the commencement of the rehabilitation of the Phase1 of the Port Harcourt Refinery.

In 2020, he inaugurated the National Gas Expansion Programme as a mechanism to boost the utilization of Nigerian natural gas resources in the short and medium-term. He later flagged off the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project to transport gas from South to North Nigeria, power plants and industrial development along the corridor. As the Minster of State for Petroleum, Chief Sylva launched the Nigerian Gas Transport Code. The new code which was in line with government’s policy is expected to boost gas supply, stimulate demand and provide open, transparent and competitive access to gas transportation which would in turn boost infrastructure and development of the Nigerian gas sector. He performed the groundbreaking ceremony of Rungas LPG Composite Cylinder Manufacturing plant, located inside the Gas Hub at Polaku community, Bayelsa State. Targeting ~to~ up to 1 million LPG composite cylinders per annum to make composite LPG cylinders accessible and affordable to Nigerians. Under two years as Minister of State for Petroleum, Sylva actualized FID for NLNG Train 7 project. Train 7 will add approximately 8 metric tons per annum (mpta) of LNG and increase NLNG’s overall capacity to 30mpta, while further bolstering Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global LNG market.