'Gbite Adeniji is a specialist energy and natural resources lawyer with expertise in policy, regulatory and commercial issues in the energy, natural resources and infrastructure sectors. He has advised the Government of Nigeria on several sector reform initiatives in the energy, mineral and infrastructure sectors and has also advised a diverse clientele on commercial transactions and projects in these sectors such as Flex Floating LNG Project, the West African Gas Pipeline Project, the Ovade-Ogharefe Gas Processing Plant, the GFD Gas Infrastructure Project and the Yellowstone Power Project.

He was, between 2015 and 2018, the Senior Technical Adviser (Upstream and Gas Policy and Regulation) to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. In this role, he advised and provided direct support to the Minister on policy development, governance, regulation and reform of the petroleum sector. He led the preparation of the National Gas Policy, the National Petroleum Policy, the Petroleum Industry Reform Bill (PIRB), and the input from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources into the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB). He also developed the innovative, “first of a kind” programme for the elimination of gas flares in Nigeria – the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP); prepared the implementing Gas Flare (Prevention of Pollution and Waste) Regulations, 2018; and led the Steering Committee for the implementation of the programme.

He was counsel for the development of the Nigerian Gas Masterplan. In this role he assisted Government and Industry with the development of the framework for wholesale gas supply to domestic gas utilisation projects. He prepared the Downstream Gas Bill, the National Gas Supply and Pricing Policy and the implementing National Gas Supply and Pricing Regulations and led the preparation of a template Gas Sale and Aggregation Agreement, Escrow Agreement and Gas Transmission Agreement for wholesale gas transactions in the Nigerian domestic gas sector. He also assisted with the negotiations for the first World Bank Partial Risk (PRG) Guarantee program for Nigeria and prepared related documentation for the application of the PRCG for gas supply to state-owned power plants.

He was Senior Consultant on Oil, Gas and Policy Matters at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., where he was part of the team that advised the Government of Nigeria on the reform and restructuring of the petroleum sector including the development of a natural gas strategy for Nigeria, and supervised a study directed to restructure and revive the internal market for LPG in Nigeria.

‘Gbite has also advised the Government with the development of Mining Policy and prepared the basis (draft) of the current Mineral and Mining Act.

He writes, teaches and speaks regularly on issues relating to the development of the energy, natural resources and infrastructure sectors in Nigeria.