The Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN) has reaffirmed its commitment to grooming industry-ready skills that will strengthen Nigeria’s energy sector and make it more resilient amid global shifts in oil and gas.
 
Speaking during the Human Capacity Development (HCD) Awards held at the MUSON Centre, Lagos, President of OGTAN, Chris Osarumwense, said the association remains driven by the spirit of excellence and collaboration in moving the nation’s petroleum industry forward.
 
He declared that the awardees “represent the highest standards of performance, leadership, and contribution to workforce development,” noting that the annual event “celebrates their excellence, commitment and impact in human capacity development within our industry.”
 
The HCD Awards recognised 11 trainers, policy drivers and corporate institutions across 10 categories. The Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) received the Excellence in Oil and Gas Training Award; Nigeria LNG Limited clinched the Best Corporate Training Partner Award; TotalEnergies E&P Nigeria Limited was honoured with the Young Professional Development Award; while Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) received the HCD Advancement Award.
 
Other awardees included Aradel Holding Plc and First E&P Development Company, which both received the Indigenous HCD Company of the Year Award; Pana Academy and Oilserv Limited, which took the OGTAN Affiliate of the Year Award; and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), which received the Government Partner of the Year Award.
 
In the individual categories, Mazi Sam Azoka Onyechi (KSC) was honoured with the OGTAN HCD Icon Award 2025; Mrs Funmi Ogbue received the Women in Energy Leadership Award, while Dr Ernest Nwapa was recognised for Lifetime Achievement in Capacity Building.

Osarumwense said OGTAN has, through its more than 400 member companies, delivered thousands of courses and certifications to build competencies across the petroleum industry. “Capacity development is vital to Nigeria’s energy future. Through university linkages, young professionals programmes and workshops, OGTAN drives human capacity growth, equipping talent with competencies needed to keep the sector competitive and innovative,” he stated.
 
Chairman of OGTAN’s Board of Trustees, Mazi Sam Azoka Onyechi, said the association has become Nigeria’s strongest potential for human capacity development, having fulfilled the government’s mandate on domestication and domiciliation of industry skills.

“In pursuit of this mandate, OGTAN has been appointed an awarding body for oil and gas industry skills by the Nigerian Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and, currently under sponsorship of NCDMB, is deeply involved in developing national occupational standards for closing the gaps of critical oil and gas skills,” he said.
 
He added: “We have operated with full focus on the 5 concepts of standardization, digitalization, certification, accreditation and domiciliation; all aimed at developing OGTAN as an accredited certification body with a certified Quality Management System to guide this noble service and achieved Certification of our Quality Management System to the ISO 9001:2015 Standard. And it is our dream to make OGTAN a regionally relevant and acceptable brand in human capacity development in Africa.”