Kaduna petroleum college to begin operations in July 2025, says PTDF

The College of Petroleum and Energy Studies in Kaduna is set to commence full operations by June or July 2025.

Ahmed Galadima Aminu, the executive secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), spoke on Monday during a facility tour with student union leaders.

The tour was led by Sunday Asefon, the senior special assistant to the president on student engagement.

Aminu said the college is intended to begin operations in June or July 2025.

In 2019, the PTDF made public its plan to build a college for petroleum studies in Kaduna.

The fund said the institution, named the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies Kaduna (CPESK), would provide world-class training and research in oil, gas, and energy studies, to address the country’s growing need for skilled workers in the energy industry.

The CPESK, PTDF also said, is planning to begin operations with the 2024/2025 academic session.

Aminu said the college faced delays due to funding shortages and the need to finalise agreements with partner institutions.

He said the PTDF has been working to ensure the institution can be used to domesticate training programmes currently conducted abroad.

“We have been engaging with our foreign partners. Late last year, we signed an MoU with three universities in the UK so that we can mount the programmes with them here,” he said.

He emphasised that moving training programmes to Nigeria would reduce costs and save foreign exchange, allowing more students to benefit from the initiative.

Master’s programmes will run for two years, while PhD students will spend a year abroad to obtain globally competitive certifications.

Aminu said PTDF is also collaborating with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) to ensure all oil and gas personnel training programmes are handled by the college.

Additionally, a similar training centre in Port Harcourt is expected to become operational before the end of the year.

Beyond training, PTDF has been promoting research in Nigerian universities through endowed chairs aimed at addressing challenges in the oil and gas sector.

Aminu said the visit of student union leaders was intended to showcase the college’s facilities and its role in building local capacity for the industry.

“Our mandate is to train Nigerians to fit into the oil and gas industry. We have several scholarship programmes for Nigerian students both within and outside the country,” he said.

“Now, we believe it is the right time to domesticate these training programmes so that Nigerians can obtain globally competitive certifications locally.”

Aminu said the PTDF has also upgraded 26 university departments offering oil and gas-related courses across Nigeria, equipping them with new buildings, laboratories, classrooms, and essential infrastructure.

Institutions benefiting from these upgrades include Ahmadu Bello University, University of Ibadan, University of Port Harcourt, University of Maiduguri, and Usman Danfodiyo University.

He said ongoing upgrades are also being implemented in six universities across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones.