Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UTM Offshore Limited, Julius Rone has carved a distinct path in Nigeria’s energy sector.
At 52, the businessman has spent decades turning the country’s vast, under leveraged gas reserves into a platform for serious commercial enterprise. The result is a career that has made him one of the most recognized figures in Nigerian energy and earned him a nickname, “King of Gas”.
Rone built his reputation the hard way, distinguishing himself through operational discipline, long-term thinking and an ability to read the market. At 52, colleagues describe him as measured in outlook and deliberate in decision-making, with an emphasis on relationships and sustained growth rather than rapid visibility
His birthday on Thursday, June 25, became an occasion for friends, colleagues and business associates to acknowledge not only the personal milestone, but also the broader arc of his professional journey and contribution to conversations around energy development in Nigeria.
Rone’s story also reflects a wider narrative, one that explores what building and scaling businesses locally can look like over time. Rather than positioning success as something that must happen elsewhere before returning home, his career has remained rooted in operating within the Nigerian environment.
At 52, the milestone reads less like a conclusion and more like another point along a longer professional journey.
