In Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, where big announcements often come before visible results, Bobson Akuyoma has taken a quieter approach, building his businesses through steady expansion, operational discipline and a focus on delivering value.
Akuyoma, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bob & Sil Global Services Limited and MB Refinery & Petrochemical Company Limited, has grown from a logistics operator into an emerging player in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.
A graduate of Public Administration from the University of Benin, Akuyoma grew up around tank farms in Benin, Edo State. Rather than viewing the growing petroleum infrastructure around his community simply as competition, he saw an opportunity to build a business around the industry.
He started Bob & Sil with limited resources and gradually expanded the company through strategic investments and strong business relationships. The company now operates across areas including haulage, petroleum product storage, offshore support, marine logistics and waste management.
For Akuyoma, moving into refining was a natural extension of the company’s existing operations.
“We saw an opportunity to build something connected—to move from storage and logistics into refining and petrochemicals. We could stay in logistics, or we could push into refining and petrochemicals. We chose to push,” he said.
That decision has led to the development of MB Refinery and Petrochemical Company’s 30,000 barrels-per-day modular refinery at Ajagbodudu in Delta State.
The project is expected to add refining capacity to the Niger Delta and contribute to Nigeria’s broader efforts to reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.
Akuyoma said the decision to enter refining was guided by the country’s need for additional local refining capacity.
“Nigeria needs refining capacity. We have the location and the expertise to do this well,” he said.
The refinery project has already attracted regulatory engagement, including site inspections involving the Delta State Ministry of Oil and Gas, with attention focused on civil, structural and operational standards.
Focus on local content
For Akuyoma, local content goes beyond meeting regulatory requirements. He believes Nigerian investments in the energy sector should create employment, develop skills and ensure that more value from the country’s natural resources remains within the country.
Bob & Sil has invested in employee training, safety programmes and internal career development. The company also plans to develop workers with the skills required for specialised roles that will emerge as MB Refinery moves towards operations.
“We want to prepare Nigerians for jobs that did not exist in the region a few years ago,” Akuyoma said.
He also wants the businesses to maintain a strong relationship with surrounding communities through employment opportunities, skills development and community initiatives.
A measured approach to expansion
Akuyoma’s business philosophy centres on integrity, discipline, quality service and long-term relationships.
“Our growth has been driven by integrity, operational discipline, strong business relationships and a commitment to quality service,” he said.
He explained that he applies a simple test before undertaking major projects: whether the move makes strategic sense and whether it creates value for the country.
“If the answer is yes to both, we move forward,” he said.
He also emphasised the importance of keeping promises and avoiding shortcuts.
“That is integrity—doing what you say, admitting when you are wrong, not taking shortcuts,” he said.
His approach is to prioritise actual progress over publicity, with the company focusing on project development rather than frequent announcements.
Learning from Nigeria’s refining expansion
The growth of Nigeria’s refining industry has demonstrated that locally owned companies can participate in large-scale energy infrastructure.
The Dangote refinery, for example, has become a major development in Nigeria’s downstream sector, while the company’s planned public offering has further drawn attention to the scale of investment possible in the country’s refining industry.
Akuyoma’s MB Refinery is smaller in scale but follows a different model, using modular refining technology to bring processing capacity closer to oil-producing areas in the Niger Delta.
The company believes the approach can support fuel supply, create jobs and strengthen industrial activity in the region.
Akuyoma said his ambition extends beyond immediate commercial returns.
“Over the next ten years, we want Bob & Sil and MB Refinery to matter—not just as businesses making money, but as part of building actual industrial capability in this country,” he said.
He said such development should translate into infrastructure, sustainable employment and skills that remain useful after individual projects are completed.
As MB Refinery progresses towards operations, Akuyoma is positioning the project as part of a broader effort to increase Nigerian participation in refining and petrochemicals.
His long-term vision is built around the belief that countries that produce natural resources should also develop the capacity to process them and retain more of the resulting economic value.
With MB Refinery, Akuyoma is seeking to expand that model from logistics and storage into refining, while creating another indigenous platform in Nigeria’s evolving energy sector.
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