Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe has expressed satisfaction with milestones achieved in implementing the Board’s blueprint for capacity building in critical oil and gas industry skills.
Speaking in Port Harcourt at the closing ceremony of the Human Capital Development Training Programme organised by PE Energy Limited in conjunction with the Board, Chevron Nigeria Limited at PANA Academy, Ogbe said the successful completion of the 12-month programme was “a testament to the transformative power of the Board’s project-based HCD Initiative.”
Among key areas of the training were Health, Safety, and Environment, Project Management, Automation and Control, Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Teamwork, and practical/hands-on training in several oil and gas industry operational areas.
Engr. Ogbe, who was represented by the Manager, HCD of the NCDMB, Mrs. Tarilate Teide-Bribena, told the 46 graduates that they were not being prepared simply as employees but as catalysts of change, “leaders who will provide local solutions and set new benchmarks of excellence. This is nation-building in action.”
The NCDMB boss commended the strategic partnership between the Board, Chevron Nigeria Limited, PE Energy Limited, Ambong Energy, and Dexterous Training Institute, for the powerful impact made, noting that the achievement is “grounded in the Board’s steadfast commitment to technical capability development,” a core pillar of its 10-Year Strategic Road Map.
To the graduates, he charged, “Wield your expertise with purpose, diligence, and integrity,” while urging them to be relentless in learning and inspiring others.
Earlier, the Chairman, PANA Holdings, Dr. Daere Akobo, represented by Mrs. Daisy Maduagwu, said the closing ceremony marked not just the end of a training cycle but “the beginning of a new chapter, one defined by growth, knowledge, and excellence.”
Akobo charged the graduands to put the knowledge acquired into good use.
The Chairman of the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria, OGTAN, Port Harcourt Chapter, Engr. Chika Chinwah said the association is “a baby of NCDMB ensures human capital development takes place on the back of every major oil and gas project.”
He urged the graduates to make the most out of the training received.
In a project overview, the Country Manager, PE Energy Limited, Engr. Chukwuemeka Igilar, said the Makaraba-Utonana Gas Management Project of Chevron was borne out of the realisation that “there is a need to reduce carbon footprints and carbon emissions,” and that the project was to demonstrate that “waste can be captured as energy.”
According to him, the performance test was ongoing and the project was “about 80% complete.”
He listed benefits, which include faster development of awarded marginal fields, zero flaring of gas, zero CO2, zero environmental pollution, and increased DOM gas availability.
The Capacity Building Advisor of Chevron, Engr. Victor Inyere, thanked the NCDMB for making the programme a reality, while noting that the training was a significant milestone to strengthen local content.
The General Manager, Global Business Services, Mr. Kennedy Dike, charged the graduands to take what they have studied to the field and the rigs.
Six of the 46 graduands, who had the highest rating in the programme, were offered automatic employment by PE Energy Limited.
