Dr. Layi Fatona has been appointed as Chairman of the ND Western Board having previously served as ND Western’s pioneer Managing Director, where he played a key role in shaping NDW’s strategic and operational foundation.
About Dr. Layi Fatona
Dr. Layi Fatona is a distinguished Nigerian geologist, energy executive and business leader with more than three decades of experience spanning petroleum exploration, production, energy consulting and corporate governance.
He previously served as President of Geotrex Systems Limited, one of Nigeria’s leading indigenous geoscience and petroleum consulting firms, and currently serves as Chairman of the company. Over the course of his career, Dr. Fatona has built a strong reputation as a respected authority on the geology and hydrocarbon systems of the Niger Delta Basin.
His professional journey began at The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), where he spent seven years working in the Petroleum Engineering and Exploration & Production Departments. During his time at Shell, he gained extensive technical and operational experience in upstream oil and gas activities, laying the foundation for his later contributions to Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
Beyond his technical expertise, Dr. Fatona has played key leadership roles across Nigeria’s corporate and financial sectors. He serves as Chairman of Skye Financial Services Limited and has previously held board positions in several organisations, including Grand Treasurers Limited and Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc.
Dr. Fatona is widely recognised within the global petroleum industry for his contributions to exploration geology and basin analysis. He is frequently consulted by both Nigerian and international oil companies on issues relating to petroleum geology, exploration strategy and the Niger Delta oil and gas province.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the energy sector, he received the prestigious Aret Adams Award in 2010 from the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), one of the highest honours in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
He also served as President of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists and is a Fellow of the association. Internationally, he is a certified Petroleum Geologist of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), reflecting his standing within the global geoscience community.
Academically, Dr. Fatona obtained both his Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree and Doctorate (Ph.D.) from the Royal School of Mines at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of London, in 1976 and 1980 respectively.
Over the years, Dr. Fatona has remained an influential figure in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, contributing significantly to indigenous participation, technical excellence and the development of geoscience expertise in the country.
