Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, has urged the Nigerian Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), to drive the Federal Government’s agenda on the global movement towards cleaner sources of energy.
Mustapha, who made the call during the PTI’ 50th anniversary conference/award ceremony in Abuja, also urged the Institute to drive the government’s roadmap to end gas flaring.
“This should be part of your target for growth and development of the oil and gas industry. I also urge the Institute to reassess its relationship with the major players of the oil and gas sector with the aim of meeting their expectations,” he said.
He commended the Institute for attaining 50 years of delivering quality training in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria and in the sub-Saharan Africa.
“I congratulate PTI for preserving and maintaining the relevance of the oil and gas industry for 50 years and for organising this conference and award ceremony to celebrate the institute.
“The vision of the founding fathers of PTI was to address the inadequacy of the indigenous requirements to man and operate an efficient petroleum industry. This industry was largely dominated by foreign expatriates who were at the forefront, and this brought about exploitation of our crude oil production.
“This issue brought about the establishment of PTI to train our indigenous expatriates, which has today resulted in 50 years of sustainable training of workers in the industry, and the graduation of over 50,000 students.
“Many of these trainees were absorbed as employees of the sector. I urge the Institute to take stock of its performance and challenges in the face of today’s technology, as well as project its aspiration for the future,” he said.
Energy is necessary in our day to day dealing, businesses are changing, companies are shifting their focus, we must deliver energy, and training and innovation technology must be a focus for us in a manner that will help to deliver energy.
Also speaking, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Ltd., Mele Kyari, said the oil and gas industry has changed rapidly in a positive way because of the change in attitude by Nigerians and industry players.
“In our country today, we have so much energy, 80% of the population can now boast of electricity. Energy is necessary in our day to day dealing, businesses are changing, companies are shifting their focus, we must deliver energy, and training and innovation technology must be a focus for us in a manner that will help to deliver energy.
“This energy will bring about efficiency. Without energy there will be no recovery of value and you will keep losing so many things,” he said.
Industry collaboration
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that on September 13, in Abuja, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, joined the Nigerian Government to sign a Letter of Intent with seven companies to support the clean energy transition.
The seven companies included AB InBev, Akamai, HP, Iron Mountain, Lady Lawyer Foundation, Rife International, and Unilever, who seek to unlock investment in clean energy infrastructure arising from commercial and industrial sector operations.
This collaboration will help develop robust, reliable, transparent, cost-competitive, and credible procurement options that comply with labour laws in Nigeria to help meet clean energy targets, increase energy security, and enable corporations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
The Clean Energy Demand Initiative (CEDI) serves as a platform for stakeholder engagement and country partnerships and creates a venue for companies and countries to signal investment potential in clean energy, share experiences, and support each other on policy reform that contributes to affordable and resilient energy systems to drive economic growth.
The Initiative also signalled support for principles to enable corporate renewable procurement, ramping up deployment and accelerating the energy transition in support of global climate goals.
