There is an urgent need for the Federal Government and oil sector stakeholders to intensify efforts in promoting quality petroleum education and development of manpower to help Nigeria meet the current energy transition challenges and expected boom in gas supply.
This was the recommendation of the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Simbi Wabote, during his convocation lecture on Friday at the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, Delta State, titled, “Defining the Value of Local Content in Petroleum Education.”
He said as western nations shift their attention from oil and gas to focus on the provision of funding, manufacturing of equipment, and development of supply chain to support their renewable energy sources, it was imperative that Nigeria and other hydrocarbon-rich countries developed the requisite capacity to produce and utilise their fossil fuel resources.
Wabote said the ongoing debates and deadlines being set in respect of energy transition underscored the need to develop home-grown skill sets to develop and manage the nation’s natural resources.
He said, “The narrative around energy transition has further revealed the need to ensure that there is a direct link between our petroleum education and the development and utilisation of our hydrocarbon resources, so we are able to deal with any outcome of the transition.”
Commenting on the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and the Decade of Gas initiative, Wabote said the developments would not only engender investments and utilisation of the nation’s estimated 600 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves but would also lead to a boom in the gas sector.
He said, “These scenarios require a robust petroleum education sector to ensure that our in-country skill sets are available and sufficient to support the exploration, development, production and processing of hydrocarbon resources.”
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