By Our Correspondent
Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), the operator of the NNPC/CNL Joint Venture recently completed a 12-month on-the-job-training of seven (7) Nigerian graduates at CNL’s office and field locations.
The training was part of CNL’s efforts to assist with building organizational capability in the oil and gas industry.
This is the second batch of trainees that have gone through this program and this batch makes it a total of fourteen (14) graduates who have benefitted from this outstanding internship programme since 2015.
The internship program, which is in support of the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development Initiative (NCHCDI), covered various disciplines, including Earth Science, Reservoir Management as well as Drilling and Completions. The program was executed in partnership with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). CNL has spent overN300 Million on the internship program since its inception in 2015.
CNL was one of the operators in the oil and gas industry that heeded NCDMB’s call in 2014, to help provide on-the-job-learning and capacity building opportunities for Nigerian Earth Science graduates.
The first batch of seven (7) earth scientists completed their internship program in 2015 and some of them were subsequently employed by companies in Nigeria and overseas.
The only female trainee in the team progressed into a role of higher responsibility in one of the Federal Government parastatals.
Another trainee is currently undertaking a PhD program in Engineering in an Ivy League university in the United States of America.
At the passing out ceremony for the second batch of seven (7) beneficiaries, held recently at the NCDMB liaison office, Abuja, CNL’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. Jeffrey Ewing, commended the partnership between CNL and NCDMB, stating that the collaboration has been yielding positive results.
Mr. Ewing, who was represented at the event by Mr. Olusoga Oduselu, CNL’s General Manager, Nigerian Content Development, stated that “… Chevron prides itself in building capacity in Nigeria and in Nigerians. Our support for Nigerian Content development goes beyond the implementation of the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.” He also congratulated the interns for successfully completing the 12 months’ internship.
Mr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, NCDMB’s Executive Secretary, thanked CNL for its consistent support of the NCHCDI and other initiatives of NCDMB . In his words,“Chevron has been fantastic in its collaboration with the NCDMB, not only in the implementation of the NCHCDI program, but in other initiatives of the Board.”
Efe Akpovwovwo, one of the beneficiaries of the program, thanked CNL and NCDMB for the opportunity, saying it enabled him to acquire high level technical skills in the use of state-of-the-art technology in the oil and gas industry.
In his words, “… the internship program in Chevron was an invaluable experience for me. Some of the skills I acquired in the technical area include well & seismic data interpretation, 3D Simple Petrel Earth Modelling, identification of workovers & infill drilling opportunities, use of Microsoft-Office software, well site drilling operations and inter-disciplinary understanding of reservoir management.”
Mr. Akpovwovwo said the opportunity also enhanced his reporting, presentation, creativity and multi-tasking skills.
In 2009, Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited (a Chevron Company and operator of the Agbami unit) and the other parties in the Agbami Unit, introduced the Agbami Medical and Engineering Professionals Scholarship (AMEPS). The scholarship program was initially designed for undergraduates of Niger Delta origin, but was later extended to all eligible Nigerian undergraduates. AMEPS has helped to generate a strategic feed into the national health and engineering manpower pool. A total of fifteen thousand, eight hundred and two (15,802) scholarships worth about N7.5 billion were awarded between 2009 and 2016.
Other notable NCHCDI achievements by Chevron Companies in Nigeria include the training of 230 Nigerians as operators in South Africa for the Escravos Gas-to-Liquids (EGTL) Project; training of 109 Nigerians in operations, maintenance and instrumentation in South Korea for Agbami Deepwater Project; training of more than 400 Nigerians at a Vocational Training Programme (VTP) in Ogere. Ninety-eight per cent of the beneficiaries of the VTP have been employed by CNL while others have been employed by other international oil companies.
CNL also has an ongoing five-year scholarship program worth over N300 Million for Dynamic Positioning training for Nigerian seamen at PEM Offshore Limited, an indigenous company. A total of 172 Nigerian seamen have undergone this training till date.
