Ms Sumayya Hassan Athman is the new Chief Executive Officer of the National Oil Corporation of Kenya.

She has held the position in an acting capacity since September 2010 after former managing director Mwenda Nyagah left.

Ms Sumayya has been with the state-owned corporationfor the past seven years having joined in 2004 as a company secretary / legal manager before rising to the position of deputy managing director in 2007.

Among her areas of focus will be to advance an active oil and gas exploration programme and spearhead the firm's participation in addressing infrastructure woes facing the petroleum sub-sector.

This is via development of national petroleum distribution system including the offshore storage facilities.