Alarmed by the widening shortage of industry-ready geoscientists and petroleum engineers, the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) has unveiled plans to establish a tuition-free academy to bridge the gap between university education and the technical skills required by the country’s upstream oil and gas industry.

Unlike conventional graduate trainee schemes run by individual operators, the proposed NAPE Academy is designed as an industry-wide institution that will train graduates through an intensive programme jointly delivered by academia and experienced industry professionals before deploying them for mandatory internships with oil and gas companies.

The association said the academy, expected to commence within the next two years, would require an initial funding of about $2 million, while students would pay no tuition fees and would also receive free accommodation and feeding throughout the programme.

The proposed academy will focus on geosciences, petroleum engineering, artificial intelligence, data analytics and other emerging technologies considered critical to developing the next generation of professionals needed to sustain Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

Speaking at the NAPE Academy Establishment Workshop in Lagos yesterday, Chairman of the NAPE Academy Committee, Nedo Osayande, said the initiative was conceived as a long-term solution to Nigeria’s growing shortage of technically competent subsurface professionals.

According to him, the academy builds on the successes of Shell’s former Intensive Training Programme (SITP), which produced generations of petroleum professionals before it was discontinued due to funding constraints.

“This time around, we want something that is not owned by one company, not sponsored by one company, but something that will encompass the entire industry,” Osayande said.

He explained that bringing operators, service companies, regulators and academic institutions under one training platform would reduce costs, enrich curriculum development and ensure graduates acquire the practical competencies employers require.

Under the proposed model, each course will be taught jointly by an academic with industry experience and an industry practitioner with strong academic grounding, while students will spend between three and six months undergoing internships before graduation.