The Nigerian Institution of Petroleum Engineers (NIPetE) has called for stronger synergy between industry operators and professional bodies to equip Nigerian graduates with the hands-on, practical competencies required to compete in the energy sector.
Speaking during an interview on the sidelines of the ongoing 2026 African Oil Week (AOW) in Accra, Ghana with NewsDirect, the National Chairman of NIPetE, Engr. Dr. Yetunde Aladeitan, highlighted a widening gap between academic curricula and the workplace requirements of employers, stressing the urgency of producing truly industry-ready graduates.
Aladeitan noted that while young Nigerians exhibit a strong appetite for specialised technical competencies, their access to the vital tools, software, and resources needed to cultivate these skills remains limited.
To help address this deficit, NIPetE recently partnered with CypherCrescent Limited, an indigenous energy technology firm based in Port Harcourt, to promote the development and adoption of home-grown reservoir simulation software.
The initiative seeks to deepen domestic technical capacity while reducing the nation’s reliance on foreign-developed engineering platforms.
Aladeitan revealed that the institution has already commenced technical training in reservoir simulation for young graduates.
Highlighting the surge in demand, she disclosed that over 300 candidates applied for a targeted cohort structured to accommodate only 40 participants due to resource constraints.
She maintained that scaling and sustaining such initiatives requires greater intervention from upstream operating companies, stressing that engineering development must extend beyond classroom theory to practical mastery of industry-standard tools.
Beyond workforce training, the NIPetE chairman advocated a more rigorous enforcement of local content policies to insulate the domestic sector from disruptions linked to over-reliance on foreign personnel and technologies.
Addressing the global energy transition, Aladeitan dismissed suggestions that petroleum engineering is becoming obsolete, asserting that the discipline is undergoing an evolution.
She urged professionals to upskill and integrate competencies in artificial intelligence, renewable energy, hybrid systems, natural gas development, and carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS).
While welcoming the increasing footprint of indigenous exploration and production firms following recent licensing exercises, she identified access to capital as a major hurdle to field development.
She expressed optimism that the operationalisation of the Nigeria-headquartered African Energy Bank (AEB) would unlock critical funding pathways for domestic operators.
Aladeitan concluded by reaffirming Africa’s need for a balanced, pragmatic energy mix, arguing that the continent must continue developing its hydrocarbon resources responsibly to drive socio-economic growth while simultaneously deploying low-carbon technologies.