Dr. Layi Fatona is the Chief Executive officer of Niger Delta Exploration and Production Plc, where he pioneered the first and only privately owned and operated refinery in Nigeria-the Ogbele Mini Refinery. He is a Petroleum Geologist with over thirty-five years of practice, commencing with a seven year stint in the Petroleum Engineering and Exploration & Production Departments at The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC).

He is widely consulted by Nigerian and foreign oil companies, and is a Past President and Fellow of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE). A certified Petroleum Geologist of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG).

Dr. Fatona studied Geology at the University of Ibadan and Petroleum Geology and Sedimentology at the University of London.