Eyesan Decries Missed Oil Investment Inflows, Harps on Skilled Workforce

Nigerian petroleum regulator Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan lamented the country's loss of billions in oil and gas investment over the past decade, which has weakened the nation's skilled workforce needed to boost growth in the sector. At the Human Capital Development Conference in Warri, Eyesan revealed that Nigeria once attracted $26 billion in oil and gas investment in 2014 but this figure had dwindled to around $2 billion per year by 2023.

The prolonged decline in investment, she explained, caused a loss of critical technical skills, especially in exploration and subsurface disciplines, as companies reduced activities and focused mainly on maintaining existing assets. Among the first to suffer were geoscientists, who were let go as budgets were cut and exploration halted.

Meanwhile, some petroleum engineers were let go as operators shifted to a survival mode, concentrating on maintenance. The oil infrastructure was left deteriorated due to the lack of investment. Now, as Nigeria seeks fresh investment in the upstream sector, Eyesan stressed the need to rebuild the country's technical workforce and develop the expertise necessary to support increased activity.

"Today, we are attracting new investments, so we want to see an upward trajectory," she said. "It stands to reason that you must go back to the basics. First of all, we need the right competencies in sub-surface."