The 53rd International conference and exhibition of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS) which took place from the 26th – 31st of March, 2017 at the Abuja Sheraton Hotels and Towers, offered yet another opportunity for the Department to showcase its capacity and readiness to drive Government’s agenda in increasing national reserves in oil and non-associated gas.
The theme of this year’s annual conference was “The extractive industry: Imperatives for wealth creation and employment generation”.
The conference and exhibition was well attended and drew participation from experts from various sectors of the extractive industry. The event featured student sessions / technical sessions with presentations from facilitators on several topical issues relating to the theme of the conference and the extractive industry in Nigeria.
In participating, DPR also demonstrated her firm support for the NMGS’ objectives and endorsed the association’s
sure and steady steps towards reviving and sustaining the activities of the extractive industry in Nigeria.
The Department also participated in the just concluded maiden edition of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF 2017) organized by the Nigerian Content Development (Management) Board, which ran concurrently with NMGS, but held in the Le Meridien, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, March 29-30, 2017.
The representative of the Director of Petroleum Resources at the NOGOF event, Mr. Oluwole Akinyosoye, Assistant Director and Zonal Operations Controller of DPR Lagos, presented a paper titled “Nigerian Content Oportunities” and participated in a roundtable discuss that was the highlight of the technical session of the conference.
Along with other institutional representatives from the Nigeria Oil and Gas Free Zone, the Nigerian Customs Service, the Nigerian Immigrations Service, Nigeria Ports Authority and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), DPR highlighted the critical need to adopt policies that would engender an increase in specialization and the development of expertise in indigenous players in the oil and gas sector as we pursue accelerated national economic development. This resonated with the conference theme “Advancing indigenous participation in the Nigerian oil and gas industry for national development”.
