…As PTDF moves to make Nigeria regional hub for skills

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has called for greater investment in domestic refining, gas processing, petrochemicals, storage, transportation and distribution infrastructure, saying expansion of the petroleum value chain is critical to driving Nigeria’s industrial growth.

The Authority said Nigeria’s long-term energy advantage would increasingly depend on how effectively the country converts its crude oil and natural gas resources into value within the domestic economy.

The Authority Chief Executive, NMDPRA, Rabiu Umar, said this yesterday at the ongoing Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) Energy and Labour Summit (PEALS) 2026 in Abuja, saying that expanding the domestic petroleum value chain would strengthen energy security while supporting wider industrial development.

Represented by the Executive Director, Corporate Services and Administration, NMDPRA, Sadiq Bashir, Umar said Nigeria could no longer rely solely on the size of its hydrocarbon resources as a measure of the strength of its petroleum industry, stressing that greater value must be derived from processing and utilising the resources within the country.

He said, “Nigeria’s long-term advantage will depend increasingly on how effectively we convert our crude oil and natural gas resources into value within the economy.

“Expanding domestic refining, gas processing, petrochemicals, storage, transportation and distribution infrastructure will strengthen energy security, create employment and support industrial development,” he said.

He said the scale of capital required for refineries, gas processing facilities, pipelines, depots, storage terminals and other critical infrastructure made a predictable regulatory environment essential for attracting and retaining investment.

According to him, the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 created a new foundation for petroleum sector governance by establishing clearer institutional responsibilities and a framework aimed at promoting commercial orientation, market development, competition and transparency.

However, Umar stressed that legislation alone could not create an efficient energy market, noting that the real test of reform lay in effective implementation.

He said the NMDPRA was committed to providing clear rules, efficient processes, strong monitoring and consistent enforcement to give investors confidence while protecting consumers and maintaining market integrity.

Umar said the Authority’s regulatory philosophy was anchored on being “Firm in Regulation, Fair in Conduct and Fast in Execution,” arguing that unnecessary regulatory delays could create uncertainty, raise the cost of doing business and constrain investment and growth.

He said investments across refining, gas processing, petrochemicals and energy logistics would help deepen the domestic value chain and reduce the extent to which Nigeria exports raw resources only to import higher-value petroleum and energy products.

While the NMDPRA focused on expanding the physical infrastructure required to deepen the domestic energy value chain, the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) said Nigeria must equally build the technical capacity needed to operate the emerging energy ecosystem.

The Executive Secretary of the PTDF, Prof. Shuaibu Aliyu, said the Fund was repositioning Nigeria to become a regional hub for energy skills and technical manpower, with a long-term vision of producing professionals who could serve both Nigeria and the wider African energy market.

Aliyu said that the PTDF was moving beyond its traditional focus on scholarships to establish an integrated workforce development system combining technical training, professional certifications, research, institutional development and industry partnerships.

According to him, “The PTDF’s long-term vision is to develop a workforce that is trained in Nigeria, employed in Nigeria, and, by choice, exported to serve the broader African energy industry.”

He said the changing energy landscape had expanded the definition of energy expertise beyond conventional oil and gas disciplines to include renewable energy, energy efficiency, automation, data management and other emerging technologies.

Aliyu said the Fund was working with Nigerian universities and technical colleges to modernise curricula and equip institutions to train professionals in areas including solar technology integration, hydrogen development, energy economics, carbon capture and digital grid management.

He said PTDF was also investing in domestic training infrastructure to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on overseas institutions while retaining expertise and investment within the country.

Aliyu identified the Centre for Skills Development and Training in Port Harcourt as one of the Fund’s flagship institutions, designed to provide specialised vocational and technical training for technicians, artisans and craftsmen across the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors.

He said the centre offers internationally recognised certifications in areas including welding, fabrication, instrumentation and offshore safety.

Aliyu said PTDF was determined to train thousands of artisans and mid-level technical personnel, adding that developing such capacity domestically would help reduce capital flight while creating a larger pool of skilled manpower for the energy industry.

He also highlighted the General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua University of Geological Sciences and Engineering Technology, Kaduna, as the Fund’s postgraduate degree-awarding institution, providing postgraduate education, advanced research and a Split-Site PhD Programme through partnerships with leading universities in the United Kingdom.

The PTDF boss said the two institutions were central to the Fund’s strategy of developing internationally competitive energy education and technical training within Nigeria.

He said the objective was not merely to produce graduates but to build an ecosystem linking human capital, research, infrastructure and industry demand.

Aliyu said PTDF was also prioritising research commercialisation, digital and artificial intelligence readiness, institutional strengthening and stronger links between training institutions and the energy industry.

“PTDF combines scholarships, technical certifications, research investment, and institution building into one workforce system,” he said.

He said the strategy would position Nigeria to capture a larger share of the growing demand for technical manpower across Africa’s energy sector.

Aliyu said building such capacity would also support local content development by ensuring that critical technical expertise required by energy companies could increasingly be sourced domestically.

He stressed that Nigeria’s energy challenge was fundamentally a human-capital challenge, adding that the workforce required to secure the country’s energy future must be deliberately trained, supported and empowered.

The PTDF Executive Secretary said sustained investment in people, stronger institutional collaboration and skills development would enable Nigeria to deepen national energy capability while positioning the country as a supplier of skilled manpower to the broader African energy industry.