Bello Gusau, Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), has decried the lack of jobs in the oil and gas industry for many of the fund’s trainees.

The PTDF was established by the federal government for the training of Nigerians to qualify as graduates, professionals, technicians and craftsmen in the field of engineering, geology, science and management in the petroleum sector.

But speaking on Tuesday at the ongoing Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE), organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers, where he was represented by Jacqueline Guyil, General Manager, Nigeria Content and Industrial Collaboration, Gusau lamented .that the drop in global oil prices had affected jobs in the industry.

“Most of the people we have trained have not been absorbed into the industry because of the downturn in the industry,” he said.

“We can’t say we will stop training people because of the downturn. But we will have to focus on doing most of the training in-country and on the areas that are needed by the industry.”

The steep fall in global oil prices since mid-2014 has hit oil companies hard, leading to significant cuts in capital spending and suspension of projects.

On Monday at the opening session of the NAICE, Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, said a total of $300bn in oil investments globally in three years had been lost due to the decline in oil price.

“For the first time in the oil sector, the decline in the oil price will may result into loss of jobs,” he had said.