Bala Wunti

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Bala Maijama'a Wunti is a Nigerian petroleum engineer and corporate executive. He is known for his leadership and contributions in the oil and gas industry, He served as the Group General Manager of the NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS) formally known as National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), a subsidiary of the NNPC Limited.
Early life and education
Bala Wunti was born in 1970 in Bauchi State, Nigeria. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. He later pursued a at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. Furthering his academic, he attended Harvard Business School. Wunti is a Fellow of the Energy Institute and a Fellow of the Chemical Society of Nigeria.
Career
Wunti joined the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC Limited) in 1991, he has held several positions including Managing Director of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and Group General Manager of Corporate Planning & Strategy. In 2020, He was appointed the Group General Manager of NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS).
Impact and recognition
Wunti, as the Chief Upstream Investment Officer at NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS), played a pivotal role in addressing the pervasive issue of crude oil theft in Nigeria. Under his leadership, NNPC developed and implemented a security architecture that integrated advanced surveillance technologies, community-based initiatives, and multi-agency collaborations like; "Operation White". These measures were instrumental in tackling the estimated daily loss of 700,000 barrels of oil, which equated to over $700 million in monthly revenue losses. This strategic approach lead by Wunti, resulted in a significant improvement in Nigeria’s crude oil production, with output recovering from historic lows to over $1.24 million barrels per day by late 2022.
Wunti's contributions to the through the NNPC has earned him the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) Exemplary Service of the Year Award 2022 for his contributions in tackling crude oil theft and the Ministerial award for the outstanding performance at Nigeria International Energy Summit. He was listed among the 100 Most Reputable Africans by Reputation Poll International in 2025.
Wunti was a speaker at the Energy Council 2022 World Energy Capital Assembly, the 24th NOG Energy Conference & Exhibition, Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) 2024, and the 11th Practical Nigerian Content Forum 2022.

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