Brain Drain Hits Nigeria’s Oil Sector As Qatar, Saudi Poach Best Hands – PETAN

● Chairman Wole Ogunsanya Raises Alarm, says Nigeria Needs $6bn in Equipment to deal with 3 million barrels output goal

Lagos, Nigeria — The Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, PETAN, Engineer Wole Ogunsanya, has raised the alarm over an escalating mind drain within the nation’s oil and gasoline {industry}, warning that Nigeria’s greatest skilled professionals are being aggressively recruited by Qatar, Saudi Arabia and different oil-producing nations.

Speaking at a Media Roundtable organised by PETAN in Lagos, Ogunsanya, in a presentation titled “The State of Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry: Opportunities and Challenges,” mentioned the poaching is creating an enormous hole that urgently must be stuffed.

“The best of our experienced Nigerians in the oil and gas industry are being recruited by Qatar, Saudi and others for their industry. This poaching is creating a huge gap that needs to be filled. It clearly shows that those countries too need them,” he mentioned.

The PETAN Chairman who was in firm of Dr. Joan Faluyi, Publicity Secretary, PETAN, and different officers, linked the disaster to the divestment of International Oil Companies, IOCs, from onshore property, noting that for many years, the IOCs have been the coaching floor for Nigeria’s prime professionals.

After NOP NIGERIA Report, Oil Ministry Director Queried, Minister Disowns Claim

Oil Theft: Fact And Figures Of A National Emergency, By Adeola Yusuf

‘Their Names, Their States,’ Meet ‘Men’ Tinubu Nominated As NMDPRA, NUPRC’s Board Members

NNPC, NLNG Listing Loading; Nigeria Mulls $1Trillion Capital Market Cap, Outlines Steps For Key Assets’ IPO

“If you do a head count of top fliers in the industry, in every 10, about 8 of them were once trained by the IOCs. Now that the multinationals are divesting, who takes charge?” he queried.

Ogunsanya subsequently referred to as on all indigenous corporations which might be taking up divested property to develop an aggressive plan to massively practice those that will come into the {industry}.

He argued that Nigeria doesn’t lack younger expertise to fill the vacuum, mentioning that there isn’t any state within the federation that doesn’t have at the least two universities.

“The issue is not that we don’t have young graduates that can be in the oil and gas industry. The issue is how do we get these young graduates to come into the industry,” he mentioned.

He challenged new asset house owners: “What are the programmes that are being set up today by the buyers of divested assets by the IOCs to train people?”

On capability gaps, Ogunsanya estimated that Nigeria wants about $6 billion in gear to deal with elevated manufacturing targets.

“We estimate that we need $6bn in Equipment to handle million barrels production,” he mentioned, stressing that funding and native capability improvement are important to reaching the goal.

He nonetheless expressed confidence within the capability constructed by PETAN members, saying only a few multinationals will now come to spend money on Nigeria’s oil providers as a result of native gamers have developed capability throughout the service worth chain.

“We are providing services that are cheaper and of high quality,” he famous.

Ogunsanya additionally counseled the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, which prices one p.c to fund gear acquisition, saying the Board has completed very properly in supporting indigenous capability, citing the WalterSmith modular refinery as a hit story of native content material intervention.

He warned that until the braindrain is reversed with a deliberate, industry-wide coaching revolution, Nigeria dangers producing oil with out Nigerians to run its most technical operations.

NOP NIGERIA