The Chairman of Lapis Nigeria Limited, Dr. Femi Bajomo, has warned that Nigeria’s oil and gas sector risks a deepening capacity crisis unless deliberate investments are made in training young professionals and equipping non-technical players with practical industry knowledge.
Bajomo, who spoke at the oil and gas development training held in Lagos, said the collapse of structured training once provided by oil companies has left many young engineers ill-prepared for the realities of the industry.
He said the era when oil and gas firms invested heavily in training has largely faded, particularly with the growing dominance of indigenous operators.
He added that this realisation compelled Lapis Nigeria to partner with an Austrian engineering firm and industry leaders to design an intensive capacity-building programme that targets both technical and non-technical professionals across the oil and gas value chain.
According to him, the programme was divided into two categories – an intensive two-week technical course for engineers in Port Harcourt focusing on oil and gas development and operations, and shorter courses for non-technical professionals running for two and five days for those unable to step away from work for lengthy periods.
Bajomoemphasised that the programme would enable lawyers who defend oil and gas companies in court, bankers who finance multi-billion-dollar projects and other professionals to understand the fundamentals of oil and gas development, assess risks, interpret technical reports better and make more informed decisions in their roles. He stressed that the country’s oil and gas future will depend not on infrastructure alone but on investment in people.
“There is a huge skills gap. Graduates leave university as chemists or chemical engineers but still have to be retrained into petroleum engineering and its many specialisations, subsurface, facilities, economics, environment. This course brings all of that together in a single framework so people understand the business as a whole,” he added.
