Nigeria’s Oil Sector Faces Skilled Manpower Crisis Amid Migration and Retirement
LAGOS – The Nigerian oil and gas industry is currently grappling with a significant shortage of skilled professionals as mass migration and retirement take their toll, according to Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy.
Speaking at the 9th Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC) in Lagos, under the theme “Building Africa’s Future: Advancing Local Content and Sustainable Development in the Oil and Gas Industry,” Verheijen outlined the sector’s decade-long struggle with a dwindling workforce, particularly in critical areas such as engineering, geoscience, and project management. She stressed that the government is prioritizing local content development to help mitigate this growing crisis.
“There was also a directive on local content. Essentially, the intention behind that directive is to ensure that capacity building by members of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria continues to the extent that they can compete globally with the other global service providers,” Verheijen said.
Highlighting the urgent need for targeted investment in human capital, Verheijen underscored the importance of inclusivity, especially in empowering women within the energy sector. “One of the most underutilised resources in Nigeria’s energy sector is the women. Women currently hold 25 per cent of executive roles in Nigeria and just 21 per cent in the energy workforce in Africa. This under-representation is not due to lack of capability but rather a lack of access, sponsorship, and sustained focus on developing the skilled base,” she noted.
Verheijen reaffirmed her commitment to promoting initiatives that provide equal opportunities for women, asserting that companies embracing diversity tend to outperform their peers. Beyond gender inclusion, she also raised concerns about the country’s youth facing limited opportunities, warning that Nigeria risks an irreversible brain drain if young talent continues to emigrate.
“Nigeria’s median age, for example, is 18 years, yet we are losing our young talent to emigration. If we fail to provide them with meaningful opportunities, we risk an irreversible brain drain,” she warned.
Calling on industry stakeholders to join forces with the government, Verheijen urged collaborative efforts to build an energy sector that is innovative, inclusive, and competitive on a global scale. She lauded the ongoing reforms under President Tinubu’s administration, which have been instrumental in unlocking investments and fostering economic growth.
Verheijen also highlighted emerging trends such as renewable energy, artificial intelligence, hydrogen, and carbon capture as key areas that are shaping the future of Nigeria’s energy landscape. “In the last 18 months, the subsidy, which characterised the economy of Nigeria, has been removed, and the funds that were hitherto spent on the subsidy are now being channelled to other sectors of the economy. The president has introduced directives on regulation, including local content. There have also been fiscal incentives introduced in the country, not just for gas but also for oil, and not just for onshore but also for deepwater,” she explained.
She added, “There’s also been final investment decisions. Last year, we witnessed a big investment that we’ve not seen for a while in the deepwater space, the Bonga North, which is about N5bn. Beyond these, there were other investments last year. There were investments in the area of clean energy, also coming from behind one of the directives that the President issued in the last 18 months. So, there have also been some power sector investments, all to deliver good living for Nigerians.”
With the dual challenges of a shrinking workforce and an urgent need for modernization, industry leaders and government officials alike are called to forge a path forward that not only addresses the current skills gap but also secures a sustainable future for Nigeria’s energy sector.
