APPO Team Visits Petroleum Training lnstitute For Collaboration

By Wilson Macaulay

WARRI

A Highly powered Secretariat Team of African Petroleum Producers Organization ( APPO) in furtherance of her collaborative effort in capacity building on Wednesday , February 2023, paid a working visit to the Petroleum Training lnstitute (PTl) Effurun Delta State, for an on the spot assessment of available facilities for Training and Capacity Building for the purpose of accrediting the Institute as an APPO approved regional Training Centre in Africa.

The Leader of the Team,Dr Taher Najah, Director Research Division of APPO while speaking on arrival at the

PTI Council Chambers stated that the

visit to PTI is essentially to fulfill the dream of APPO to visit Member Countrie's Research Development Training lnstituttions to ensure that the

facilities can meet the Training needs of APPO and thus close the gaps in Capacity Building in Oil and Gas Producing Countries in Africa.

According to Dr Taher Najah ,the APPO Team Leader , Nigeria as an old Oil and Gas Producing Country is known to have played significant role in Training

and Certification of relevant personnel to man various aspects of the Petroleum industry and PTI without any iota of doubt played a pivotal role in the actualization of that impressive record.

Dr Najah declared assertively that the APPO Team made up of one lady and three men was here in PTI to inspect the facilities and to, where necessary, fine-tune the collaborative effort to form

a strong bond of synergy for the benefit of all APPO Member Countries.

Dr Taher Najah during his speech pointed out saying : "Our visit to the Petroleum Training lnstitute PTl Effurun Delta State is very crucial and important because once we are able to put everything necessary to make the idea concrete and workable it will enhance collaboration between the APPO Member Countries , especially in the area of developing Local Content and Capacity Building, using uniform

standards that are relevant to all APPO stakeholders.

The APPO boss said: " Yes, we have heard of the track record of PTI, that is why we are here to see the facilities for assessment to ascertain the

suitability of the lnstitute ( PTl) before it

can be designated and domiciled as an APPO Training Centre in line with APPO Mission and Strategic Objective which is to promote cooperation between Member Countries by encouragement and sharing of experience through regional Training and Research Centres in Africa to address the emerging challenges of Energy Transition in the African Continental shelf."

Dr Taher Najah the APPO Chief explained that the idea is to promote

the Capacity Building strengthen of APPO nations , strong synergy and sharing of experience for the overall benefit of all APPO Member Countries.

Dr Henry Adebowale Adimula , the Principal / Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Training lnstitute PTl Effurun Delta State earlier in his key note address on behalf of Management and Staff of the Institute warmly welcomed the APPO Secretariat delegates to

PTI, adding that he has been looking forward to the visit .

Dr Henry Adimula disclosed that before the APPO delegates arrival , the PTI Management in addition to the past outstanding track record of Excellence, for which the the lnstitute is known, they consciously and deliberately decided to take certain critical steps to make PTI a Training hub for the West African Sub - region .

The PTI boss added : " To achieve this

noble objective , we carried out manpower development for deep offshore operations through the introduction of Specialized Courses in Underwater Operation, Multisurface Testing, Dive Medics Technicians Training, Underwater Welding and Cutting etc, just to be sure that we are indeed ready for the APPO task ahead ."

The PTI Chief Executive as part of the success story of the lnstitute, told the visiting APPO delegates that , indeed PTI has been playing the role of a nerve centre and acting as the nucleus of the Nigerian Institution of Welding and at

the moment PTI remains the nerve centre of Petroleum related activities

including the building and grooming of professional Societies that are related to oil and gas.

Dr Tina O lsichei , Director Research & Development the Presenter who unfolded the overview of what the facility tour Will entail said: " PTI is the true story of Local Content anchored on the principle of continuous improvement."

Dr Tina lsichei who stressed that PTI Operation resonate on Expertise, Excellence, Exclusivity and Effectiveness remarked in her presentation that PTI is the home of Excellence, Competent Development of Manpower, Quality Service Delivery in line with global best practice.

Dr lsichei the Research Expert further stated that , the core areas on which the

lnstitute measure are Training, Research and Consultancy with so much laudable strides of good result already accomplished to substantiate the lnstitute existence in the last 50 years.

Shedding more light on the progressive

stides of PTI Dr lsichei reaffirmed saying:

" PTI have rendered Consultancy services to Ghana and Niger Republics in the establishment of their own Petroleum Training lnstitute, the take-off Staff of Nigeria's Refineries where trained here in PTI, we are currently training forty eight technical Staff of Nigeria Liquifeid & Natural Gas (NLNG)

etc.

Isichei still on the progress of PTI noted:

"Today the lnstitute have sixteen HND and fourteen ND Courses , totalling an array of thirty robust available

Programmes from which prospective trainees can make their choices based on the Service they which to provide or they are already providing.

She informed the APPO Team that the Petroleum Training lnstitute Effurun have Specialized training Programmes which adequately cater for the Upstream, Midstream and Downstream sectors of the Nigerian Petroleum industry, with some examples including the IMCA accredited training centre for Dive Medics Technicians, the

Skill Development Academy, the PTI Fire Academy , the Offshore Technology Centre etc to mention but few.

Dr lsichei who disclosed that PTI have research partners across the globe

announced that Research works carried out in PTI have led to the

the production of many patent rights

like the Energy Converting Machine, Oil Anti Theft lntegrated System, Quantity

or Volume Metering System, two thousand Litres refining

capacity Modular Refinery, Electric powered Tricycle and still counting.