Africa Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) may select Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, Delta State as the regional hub for its proposed training, innovation and research in Africa.
APPO team, led by Dr. Taher Najah, Director of Research, inspected facilities at PTI, yesterday, to assess its capabilities and capacity to host such regional petroleum research and innovation hub in Africa.
APPO was created in 1987 to serve as a platform for cooperation and harmonisation of efforts, collaboration, sharing of knowledge and skills among oil producing countries in Africa. The headquarters of the organisation is in Brazzaville, the Congo.
“We are in Nigeria to visit the PTI. We look forward to seeing in details what the institution has in terms of capacity and facilities and the level of training of trainees in Africa.
“We are also interested in what level of training the PTI provide and the scale and how much of the institute’s capacity can be dedicated to the proposed hub,” Dr. Najah said.
Principal and Chief Executive Officer of the PTI, Dr. Henry Adimula, said the PTI has some of the best facilities in Africa to host APPO’s regional training, innovation and research hub, saying the institute has a rich history of training in the petroleum industry and has trained major players jn the oil industry.
He said the PTI has all it takes to be considered a regional hub in Africa and that its track records and contributions in the oil and gas sector are there for everyone to see.
Adimula said the visit by the APPO team was an opportunity for the institute to showcase its experience and capacities, saying: “We have a rich history in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.
We have trained major players in the oil industry and we have been preparing the PTI to be a training hub in Africa. The institute is in a prime position to be considered a regional hub by APPO”.
Other APPO officials, who inspected facilities at PTI, were Teni George, Head Energy Studies; Soghui Tiatti Tchananti, Head Capacity Development; Kohemun Serge Desiie, Downstream specialist and Isa Muazu, consultant.
