Oritsegbubemi Omatseyin
Lagos — The Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, hosted a combined 2026 Research peer review programme for its Annual Oil and Gas research Grant Competition and the PTDF Professorial Chair endowment programmes. The two programmes represent the main streams of PTDF research and innovation activities used by the Fund to engage local researchers to solve Nigerian oil and gas industry problems.
The two-day event saw the PTDF Auditorium charged with anticipation as Nigerian scientists displayed the ingenuity of their research works using locally sourced materials while their peers and industry experts critiqued and painstakingly reviewed those groundbreaking research.
The researchers focused on five innovative oil and gas-related projects that have greater potential to solve Nigeria’s oil and gas industry problems and impact on Nigeria’s energy future.
The projects include the development of an Integrated Pipeline Monitoring and Detection System Using Li-Fi UAV and DSP Approaches; Optimization of Carbon Nanotube-Enhanced Perovskite; Development of Sustainable Technology for Bioenergy from Non-Edible Oil Seeds; Sustainable fuels and chemicals, hydrogenation processes for valorising biomass, plastic waste and bitumen; and a study of the Cretaceous geology and source rocks of the Middle Benue Trough, with implications for resource development in North-Central Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary PTDF, Ahmed Galadima Aminu while commending the dedication of the Nigerian researchers for their works, described the occasion as a celebration of excellence and success stories. He stressed that these projects are not just academic exercises but potential drivers of commercialization, patents, and spin-off industries.
“Supporting our researchers means empowering them to solve industry problems and create jobs for Nigerians,” Aminu stated, adding that the 2026 peer review programme underscores the Fund’s commitment to turning research into real-world solutions while affirming PTDF’s commitment to building indigenous capacity for the oil and gas industry.
He Noted that the Fund has already established processes for securing patents and intellectual copyrights.
