Sarki Auwalu was appointed as the substantive Director of the Department Petroleum Resources (DPR) by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019. An appointment many key players in the industry describe as simply based on merit, as it was far away from calculations of most people close to the Nigerian Ministry of Petroleum.
In a statement signed by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Auwalu, who has been a driving force of the DPR, joined the agency in 1998 as Principal Chemical Engineer would serve as the director of the agency for an initial term of four years.
As DPR director, Sarki Auwalu is no doubt a round peg in a round hole. Just days after he was named DPR director, the agency, under his leadership, unveiled a set of new guidelines of operations for the upstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. The regulatory document, one gathered, is part of efforts geared towards limiting the cost of oil production in the country by five per cent, as demanded by the federal government and to make companies focus more on exploration. Some of the new guidelines are Work Programme and Budget Automation, Rig and Vessel Work Automation, Drilling/Completion/Re-entry Work Process Automation and the Nigerian Oil and Gas Contract Advertising Portal (NOGCAP).
Sarki enjoys cordial relationship with the mother ministry, Ministry of Petroleum and the Minister of State for Petroleum Timipre Sylva. Sarki Auwalu, a certified Nigerian chemical engineer was born 1965 in the ancient city of Kano. He obtained a bachelor’s In Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello university, Zaria. Masters in postgraduate diploma in management (1993) Bayero University Kano.
Auwalu did not restrict his quest for education to Nigeria. He studied at PETRAD Norway, where he got a Diploma in Drilling Risk Assessment in 2000. Two years later, he got another Diploma in Petroleum Policy and Management from the same institution. In 2006, Auwalu obtained a Diploma in Offshore Technology from PetrolSkill USA, and in 2007, he returned to PETRAD Norway and earned yet another Diploma in Petroleum Policy and Operations. In 2017, the DRP boss was at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos. He is also an Associate Member, Institute of Chemical Engineers, UK; Member, Society of Petroleum Engineers; Member, Nigerian Society of Engineers, and Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN).
Prior to his career at DPR, Sarki Auwalu worked as environmental engineer at Kano States environmental and protection agency in 1992-1998.
The DPR helmsman also Chairs Petroleum Training Institute governing council, basically because he had a good record of sterling academic accomplishments before he joined the DPR. DPR is a regulatory agency in Nigeria which regulates Oil and Gas activities. The Agency also conserve Nigeria’s Hydrocarbon Resources and Optimizes government take in Oil and Gas activities. Also, the Agency under Sarki Auwalu’s supervision ensures compliance with Health Safety & Environment (HSE) Standards at petrol stations and depots, while it maintains and administers the National Data Repository (NDR).
The Agency also administers Oil and Gas acreages and concessions in the country.
Auwalu’s appointment came up when Nigeria celebrated the yuletide in 2019 and typical of this season, it is notoriously known for scarcity of fuel. December and January have often been a headache for Nigerians because motorists and individuals usually queue to buy fuel at petrol stations. Auwalu and his team ensured they managed the situation till date. Auwalu has ensured Nigeria navigates yuletide seasons without the burden of scarcity of petrol or price hike. Obviously, was prepared for his current position, as not too many people would be surprised that he hit the ground running, literally, immediately after his appointment. He had gone through different stages of leadership where his sterling qualities have been useful.
Auwalu has been a major player at the DPR before his appointment. He held some key positions in the organisation, which give credence to the statement by the Presidency who hailed him as a driving force of the agency. Having started out in the agency in 1998, Auwalu rose through the ranks to the position of assistant director before his elevation as director of the organisation.
As principal chemical engineer between 1998 and 2002, he successfully supervised a number of collaborative projects of the DPR with oil giants such as Chevron and Shell, among others. He was also, at various times in his 21-year stint at the DPR, assistant chief chemical engineer, chief chemical engineer, deputy manager, manager, safety control, manager, upstream facilities as well as assistant director.
No doubt, President Buhari has been busy reshuffling the leadership of federal agencies. The President has announced the replacement of the board of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), and others. DPR was not left out, as the reshuffling brought in Auwalu; A man who has redefined leadership at DPR.
