The Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund ( PTDF), Dr. Bello Gusau, has decried the lack of jobs in the nation’s oil and gas industry for many of the Nigerians trained by the PTDF.
The PTDF was established by the Federal Government for the training of Nigerians to qualify as graduates, professionals, technicians and craftsmen in the field of engineering, geology, science and management in the petroleum sector.
Gusau said the drop in global oil prices had affected jobs in the industry.
He stated this on Tuesday at the ongoing Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers, where he was represented by the General Manager, Nigeria Content and Industrial Collaboration, PTDF, Jacqueline Guyil, on a panel session.
He said, “Most of the people we have trained have not been absorbed into the industry because of the downturn in the industry.
“We can’t say we will stop training people because of the downturn. But we will have to focus on doing most of the trianing in-country and on the areas that are needed by the industry.”
The steep fall in global oil prices since mid-2014 has hit oil companies hard, leading to significants cuts in capital spending and suspension of projects.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, said on Monday at the opening session of the NAICE, said a total of $300bn in oil investments globally in three years had been lost due to the decline in oil price.
“For the first time in the oil sector, the decline in the oil price into loss of jobs,” he said.
