Prof. Wumi Iledare is presently the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Professorial Chair in Oil and Gas Economics and Management at the Institute of Oil and Gas Studies, University of Cape Coast. He was a former Director of Emerald Energy Insititute, University of Port Harcourt where he administered the graduation of over seventy (70) Master of Science students in Petroleum and Energy Economics and twelve (12) Ph.D. scholars in Petroleum and Energy Economics from 2014-2019. He also recently served as petroleum fiscal policy team leader and member of the technical team advising the 8th Nigeria National Assembly Committees on Petroleum Industry Reforms from 2016-2019. He has taught petroleum economics to oil gas professionals in academia, business and government worldwide since the 1990s. An expert in Geopolitics of Oil and Gas Resources and Supply, Upstream Petroleum Economics, Management and Strategy, Petroleum Fiscal Systems Economics, E&P Decision Analysis under Risk and Uncertainty, and Oil and Gas Policy and Regulation Economics,
Prof. Iledare is the Chirota and Emmanuel Egbogah Distinguished Professor and Executive Director of Emmanuel Egbogah Foundation, a gratis appointment, domiciled at the Emerald Energy Institute Building, University of Port Harcourt and the Executive Vice President at the International Institute for Petroleum Energy & Policy (IIPELP) Center for Energy Economics, Abuja.
Emeritus Professor of Petroleum Economics and Policy Research at the Center for Energy Studies, Louisiana State University, USA. He was also the former Director, Data and Energy Information and former Director, US Gulf Coast Petroleum Technology Transfer Council also at Louisiana State University, Center for Energy Studies, Baton Rouge, USA. Prof. Iledare is an expert in international petroleum fiscal economics and geopolitics of oil and gas resources and supply.
He holds a Bachelor Science degree in Petroleum Engineering with honors from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria; a Master of Science degree in Energy Resources (Technology, Economics and Policy) from University of Pittsburgh’s School of Engineering; and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Mineral and Energy Resource Economics from West Virginia University College of Mineral and Energy Resources. Prof. Iledare is Africa Region Director and Member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Petroleum Engineers International (SPEI) and SPE Nigeria Council Board of Trustees. Prof. Iledare served as an associate editor for SPE Journal of Economics and Management, 2009-2016 and he is a recipient of SPE regional award for Distinguished Contributions to Petroleum Engineering in Management and Information. A past President and Senior Fellow of the United States Association for Energy Economics (USAEE), the 2014 President of the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE), and 2015-2019 President and a Distinguished Fellow of the Nigeria Association for Energy Economics (NAEE). In addition, he is an Associate Editor of the SPE Economics and Management Journal and a former editor of the USAEE Dialogue–a publication of the United States Association for Energy Economics. He served previously as Director of the U.S. Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (PTTC) for the U.S. Gulf Coast Region and the 2008 President of United States Association for Energy Economics (USAEE) and the founding President of the Association of Nigerian Petroleum Professionals Abroad (ANPPA).
Prof. Iledare is also a recipient of the prestigious IAEE award for outstanding contributions to the IAEE, the Lifetime Achiever Award of the Nigerian Association of Energy Economics, and the Emmanuel Egbogah Award for Petroleum Industry Advocacy in Nigeria from the Nigeria Council of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Prof. Iledare was a petroleum/reservoir engineer for Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in Nigeria, and a reservoir/production engineer trainee with Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN). He worked briefly as an energy specialist with the California Energy Commission. He has contributed immensely to the training of young people and professionals in petroleum economics worldwide. He serves as an adjunct or visiting professor of petroleum economics to several Universities in the USA, Asia, and Nigeria. As part of his effort to champion public education and enlightenment on petroleum economics and policy, Professor Iledare is the naissance instructor for the continuing education course for SPE Nigerian Council. In addition to teaching for SPE, he has also taught petroleum economics short courses for the AAPG affiliated Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics (NAEE), and many international consulting firms in Ghana, Brazil, Singapore, and Malaysia. He has organized several petroleum economics and management workshops on the impact of petroleum and energy policies on the oil and gas industry for federal legislators, managers, executive officers and professional staff of the Nigerian government and international oil and gas companies. He has also served as a consultant on petroleum fiscal systems modeling and analysis to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and other agencies of the federal government in Nigeria; served as honorary adviser on oil and gas matters to the Minister of National Planning, Senator Mohammed Daggash in 2008 and honorary consultant to the special adviser on petroleum matters, Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah.
He is married to Abike Joyce Iledare.