PETAN Chairman: Nigeria losing experienced mid-tier professionals in oil industry
The Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) has raised concerns over the growing loss of experienced mid-career professionals in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, warning that the country is facing a talent pipeline problem rather than a shortage of talent.
Chairman of PETAN, Engr. Wole Ogunsanya, disclosed this in his opening panel remarks during the first panel session of the OGTAN 2026 Human Capital Development (HCD) Conference in Warri, Delta State.
Ogunsanya, who was represented at the panel by Dr. Joan Faluyi, CEO of Offshore Dimensions and PETAN’s Publicity Secretary, said Nigeria’s talent pipeline is structurally fractured at three critical points: the mid-career workforce, hands-on technical competence and readiness for emerging technologies.
He noted that while Nigerian universities continue to produce capable graduates and the country retains a strong pool of experienced senior professionals, the major challenge lies in the middle of the talent pipeline.
“The problem lies in what happens in between,” he said.
According to PETAN, Nigeria is steadily losing experienced mid-tier professionals, including drilling engineers with 10 to 15 years of experience, completions specialists, ROV supervisors, and metering and instrumentation leads, to international markets.
“We develop them, and global markets recruit them,” Ogunsanya said.
He described the trend as one of the major operational constraints facing PETAN members, noting that companies may secure contracts but still struggle to find the specialist personnel required to execute them effectively.
Beyond the mid-career talent drain, PETAN identified a growing gap between formal qualifications and demonstrated hands-on competence.
The association said the challenge is not necessarily a lack of classroom knowledge, but limited access in Nigeria to simulator training, supervised field experience and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) training.
Where such training is unavailable locally, indigenous companies are often forced to send personnel abroad, increasing costs and potentially putting Nigerian-trained crews at a disadvantage when assessed against international peers.
Ogunsanya said the gap could be addressed locally through stronger collaboration among educational institutions, operators, OEMs and indigenous service companies.
Emerging Technologies
On emerging technologies, PETAN said the next cycle of oil and gas contracts would increasingly be driven by digital systems, automation and artificial intelligence.
Ogunsanya stressed that Nigeria does not lack innovation, citing a Nigerian AI-enabled subsurface solution that recently won the NCDMB Tech-Innovation Challenge in Yenagoa as evidence of the country’s capacity to develop innovative technologies.
He, however, said the bigger challenge is building a sufficiently skilled workforce capable of safely deploying, validating and scaling such technologies in live operations.
Without addressing the three gaps simultaneously, Ogunsanya warned that Nigeria risks “localising yesterday’s services while importing tomorrow’s.”
PETAN Seeks Greater Role in Industry Training
Ogunsanya reaffirmed PETAN’s commitment to moving from being “consumers” to becoming “partners” in human capital development.
He said PETAN members have already begun providing industry-based training but require formal recognition, accreditation and greater scale.
He disclosed that the association is working with industry partners on structured graduate placements within live service-company operations, with additional proposals before international and indigenous operators.
According to him, the priority is to move the initiative from pilot programmes to a systematic, industry-wide model.
PETAN said indigenous service companies provide a natural platform for practical training because “the best classroom in the industry is a live project.”
The association explained that a graduate embedded in an indigenous service company for 12 months could gain exposure to real equipment, procedures, clients, safety requirements, documentation and performance expectations, thereby transforming academic knowledge into practical competence.
To formalise the approach, PETAN proposed three measures.
First, it called for the recognition of workplace learning, with operators encouraged to recognise structured placements in qualified service companies as certifiable workplace training that can be counted, credited and funded.
Second, PETAN called for greater funding access for indigenous-led training programmes, proposing that a transparent and measurable share of Nigerian Content-funded HCD resources be competitively allocated to accredited indigenous training programmes, alongside specialist international training where necessary.
Third, the association proposed a joint accreditation pathway with OGTAN.
Ogunsanya said PETAN is proposing an accreditation framework jointly developed with OGTAN, combining OGTAN’s training and quality standards with the field expertise, facilities and worksites available across PETAN member companies.
“OGTAN brings the standards. PETAN members bring the worksites. Put those together, and Nigeria can train more of its own people at home,” he said.
He stressed that the proposal was not a request for lower standards or preferential treatment, but for formal recognition of industry-based training under clearly defined standards that PETAN members are prepared to meet.
