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(Bloomberg) – Nigerian President Bola Tinubu hired the former head of a unit of Shell Plc to run the state oil company, as Africa’s biggest crude producer works to boost output and prepare the firm for an initial public offering.

Bashir Ojulari will replace Mele Kyari as head of NNPC Ltd. with immediate effect, presidency spokesman Bayo Onanuga said in a statement. Ojulari most recently served as chief operating officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Co., and previously led Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Co.

The new board has been asked to conduct a strategic review of NNPC-operated and joint venture assets “to ensure alignment with value-maximization objectives,” Onanuga said.

Kyari was the longest-serving CEO of the NNPC, which become a company in 2021 under a new petroleum law passed by the West African nation’s government. His five-year tenure coincided with a dramatic downturn in production, with Nigeria’s output of almost 2 million barrels per day dropping to almost half that amount as oil majors exited onshore wells plagued by persistent security issues.

A gradual rise in output — with companies including Shell announcing a $5 billion investment in offshore production in December and the restart of two of the state’s long-dormant refineries — have offered encouraging signs for the industry.

NNPC is also clearing the way for an initial public offering in a process that’s spanned a decade. The company said last week it’s in a “final stage” of preparation: launching a search for advisers to work out the details of the share sale.

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Ojulari, who was at Renaissance when it acquired $1.3 billion of Shell’s onshore assets with a consortium of companies, will face a number of challenges. 

That includes a probe into the NNPC ordered by the Senate in December over allegations that it failed to remit some funds from oil sales, and winning back the trust of the public frustrated by rising pump prices for gasoline. 

While increased security by the government has reduced vandalism and pipeline theft, resulting in increased output, attacks on infrastructure flared up in recent weeks linked to political instability in the heart of Nigeria’s main oil-producing region. In addition, criminals have damaged gas lines that feed Nigeria LNG Ltd., curbing shipments of the fuel. 

Tinubu also appointed Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman, to replace Pius Akinyelure.