Chief Human Resources Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Kazachiyang Nuhu, has warned that Nigeria risks losing control of its energy future if it fails to urgently close widening workforce and technical skills gaps.

Nuhu said the convergence of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the decade of gas, rising participation by local operators and the global energy transition are creating a demand for technical talent that the industry is struggling to develop fast enough.

He spoke in a presentation titled “The National Oil Company Perspective: What NNPC Needs from Nigeria’s Trainers and How We’re Building Our Own Workforce,” at the ongoing Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN) Human Capital Development (HCD) Conference and Expo in Warri, Delta.

According to him, the changing energy landscape, driven by policy, market shifts, technology and changing expectations of younger workers, had created a technical talent demand that Nigeria could not afford to ignore.

The presentation identified artificial intelligence, digitalisation and automation as forces compressing skill cycles, while capital was increasingly moving towards liquefied natural gas, cleaner molecules and low-carbon opportunities.

Nuhu warned that unless the workforce is urgently reskilled and repositioned, Nigeria could lose its ability to effectively participate in the emerging energy economy.

“Reskill, reposition or risk becoming a spectator in our own industry,” he said.

He identified workforce and skills gaps, an ageing workforce and brain drain, commonly referred to as ‘japa’, among the major challenges confronting the industry.

Nuhu also identified a widening disconnect between academia and industry, particularly the gap between what is taught in educational institutions and what the industry requires from employees from day one.

Other challenges highlighted included weak safety culture, spills and flaring; vandalism, crude theft, surveillance and metering gaps; supply of quality materials and equipment; ageing assets, reliability and project overruns; digital oilfield and environmental, social and governance skills, as well as refinery operations, product quality, LPG safety and trade finance.

Nuhu said the solution required a fundamental shift in how human capital development is approached across the industry, noting that training must become more closely linked to production, safety, reliability and cost, while programmes must be based on current field realities rather than generic manuals.

He called for training to be benchmarked against global standards and supported by emerging technologies such as simulators, digital twins, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence.