Nigeria has been tasked on efficient oil and gas management as in the midst of changing global realities.

Speaking at the Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah Legacy Lecture Series, which had “Geopolitics of Petroleum Resources & Supply: Understanding the Emerging Dynamics in Petroleum Business Sustainability, as its theme, the guest lecturer, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Edo State and Chairperson, Edo State Taskforce Against Human Trafficking, Professor Yinka O. Omorogbe, said: “The superpowers are now all Petro-powers, particularly the United States of America. Producers are everywhere. Oil is not a scarce resource anymore and many countries in Africa have hydrocarbon resources.”

Omoregbe, who is also the current president of the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics [NAEE], said: “The superpowers are now all Petro-powers, particularly the United States of America. Producers are everywhere. Oil is not a scarce resource any more, and very many countries in Africa have hydrocarbon resources.”

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She added: “The strategic importance of OPEC is evolving. Saudi Arabia is vulnerable. New technologies have disrupted, and are likely to disrupt the oil industry.”

Consequently, she tasked Nigeria to invest huge resources in developing its oil and gas industry as well as use to proceeds of oil to make a positive impact in key sectors of the economy.

Ghana National Petroleum Corporation [GNPC], Professor & Chair in Petroleum Economics & Management, University of Cape Coast Institute for Oil and Gas Studies, Ghana, Prof Wuni Iledare, said: “The government should do its very best to invest in the intellectual development of its citizens. The current trend of focussing on politics is fast becoming counterproductive.

“Lecturers and the universities should be properly funded to carry out researches in partnership with operators in the private sector, who should also be prepared to commercialise research efforts in order to make an impact on the society.”

The managing director, Petra Services Limited, Mr Ike Egboga, who expressed appreciation to all stakeholders and participants, said the Egboga family would continue to support the event.

Director, Emerald Energy Institute, Dr Chijioke Nwaozuzu, said the institute has grown over the years to make a positive impact on human capital, and by extension the nation’s oil and gas industry.

He called on many indigenous and International Oil Companies [IOCs], to continue to support the activities of the institute, which he said has been positioned to carry research and development, capable of moving the industry forward.

Vice-Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt, Professor Ndowa Lale, said the university remains one of the best in Nigeria, with adequate capacity to develop a competent workforce for Nigeria’s economy.