The Federal Government says it will continue to support the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN) in the development of human capacity for the energy sector.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri gave the assurance on Thursday during the ongoing OGTAN Human Capital Development (HCD) Conference and Expo.

The three-day event is holding at the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State.

The theme for the event is: “Empowering People, Driving Performance, Shaping the Future of the Oil and Gas Industry”.

In his keynote address, the minister said that Nigeria was well positioned to build a world-class personnel in the oil and gas sector.

He said that investors’ confidence had increased unprecedentedly in the Nigeria energy sector, assuring of mass projects in the coming years.

The minister described Nigeria as an emerging global investment destination.

He said that the incentive-driven reforms of President Bola Tinubu that had improved the country’s competitiveness for international capital.

Lokpobiri also said that Nigeria’s relative regional stability, strategic location and proximity to major markets, including Europe, provide additional advantages for oil and gas investment and petroleum products distribution.

He said that the unprecedented investment confidence would require professionals trained to globally competitive standards.

He said that much of that training would to be delivered through OGTAN.

Lokpobiri said that the OGTAN was a vital component in the development of the oil and gas industry in the country.

He added that the execution of the coming projects would be done by human beings, including members of the OGTAN.

“Federal government is committed to supporting OGTAN through the instrumentality of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

“Under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, investment is coming back into the country in billions of dollars.

“These projects are to be executed by human beings including members of the OGTAN who are expected to ensure the projects are successful for the benefits of Nigeria and the entire world.

“Following what is going on the Gulf region, Nigeria seems to be the preferred investment destination.

“Investors are coming to my office, and I assured them that what is happening in the Gulf region will not happen in Nigeria, so we are strategically positioned, everybody is coming to invest in Nigeria,” he said.

Lokpobiri said that many lecturers and resource persons across Nigerian universities and tertiary institutions were still working with outdated curriculum.

He said that the trainers needed to be retrained to equip the next generation of engineers, technicians and other professionals with the modern skills demands in the industry.

“If the training system underpinning that capital is still operating on a fifty-year-old blueprint, the risk is that Nigeria’s newly de-risked capital arrives faster than its newly-promised workforce can be built,” he said.

Sen. Lokpobiri revealed that the Federal Government’s response to closing the gap is being channelled through the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, in direct partnership with OGTAN, to strengthen training capacity nationwide.

Lokpobiri has therefore urged OGTAN to expand its focus continentally, noting that countries such as Angola, Congo and Gabon already depend on Nigerian-trained oil and gas professionals.

“The rest of Africa is depending on human resources from Nigeria, and someone must be responsible for training that human capital not just for Nigeria,” he said.

Lokpobiri, therefore, urged the OGTAN to up their game in terms of human capacity development to meet the growing global demand in the energy sector.

The event which brought energy experts, professionals and players together, continues on Friday in the same venue.