The recent event, which took place at the company’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, marked the return of the annual program, which had been put on hold in 2021 due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The academics, who are taking a one-year sabbatical and are drawn from eight universities in Nigeria, include three professors, two associate professors, and three senior lecturers; whereas seven additional research interns will conduct research in specified fields, such as community studies, oil spill remediation, the environment, and health, and present their findings to SPDC Joint Venture during the course of the program for use in the business.
The seven interns were participants who were placed in positions that allowed them to complete the six-month supervised internship that is required to earn a master’s degree from the University of Benin’s NNPC-Shell-sponsored Centre of Excellence in Geosciences and Petroleum Engineering.
“After the restrictions imposed on us by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are pleased that the SPDC has resumed this very important program with support from our joint venture partners, NNPC Limited, Total Energies, and Nigerian Agip Oil Company. Igo Weli, SPDC Director and Head of Corporate Relations, stated, “These inductees continue a sabbatical and internship program that started in 1980 and continues to form a key aspect of our effort to contribute to the development of higher education in Nigeria.”
“This annual program is of mutual benefit because SPDC JV obtains specialized services from professors and senior lecturers, while they, in turn, acquire industry experience and exposure to new technologies that are then incorporated into the university curriculum,” Weli stated.
Ijeoma Vincent-Akpu, a professor of ecotoxicology and hydrobiology at the University of Port Harcourt who had been assigned to SPDC’s Environment Department, emphasized the program’s advantages for academics, stating, “I am excited about this opportunity to gain industry experience.” As a researcher working with the communities, I have assessed the effects on the environment. I will be able to evaluate the effects of working with the industry during this sabbatical. I am looking forward to an amazing learning experience because SPDC has a robust environmental management program.
“I am also excited to be here because I have worked in the university environment all my career,” said Dr. Irom Bassey Okey of the Cross River University of Technology in Calabar. I now have a fantastic chance to expand my career in research.
The individuals chosen for the sabbatical expressed their eagerness to participate in SPDC’s efforts to achieve the objective of providing environmentally friendly energy solutions and gaining practical experience and knowledge.
Other people from Federal University of Technology, Akure, were inducted into the sabbatical; Ndufu Alike, Ikwo, Alex Ekwueme Federal University; Ota-based Covenant University; Wilberforce Island, University of the Niger Delta; Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in Port Harcourt and the University of Benin in Benin City.
Also, Okiemute Enaughe and Victoria Onoakpogbunuke Ovueferie, two research interns from the University of Benin, said that the internship program helps Nigeria’s petroleum industry develop local talent and capacity.