Energy management and automation firm, Schneider Electric, has called on organisations to deepen local content in the oil and gas industry.
The firm made this call during at the Practical National Content organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board recently in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The General Manager, Sub Saharan Africa – Process Automation of Schneider Electric, Ajibola Akindele, said the outbreak of COVID-19 last year led to lockdowns in various countries and restrictions on international travels.
He said the pandemic presented an opportunity for companies to domicile skills and capabilities in Nigeria within Nigerians, adding that during the pandemic, there were restrictions in travel as well as repatriations, hence most expatriates could not come to Africa.
He noted that the pandemic afforded Schneider Electric the opportunity to upskill local engineers, adding that the Nigeria office of the company recorded some of the highest training man-hours during the period of the pandemic.
Akindele, in a statement on Sunday, said, “It was a great opportunity to train our teams and provide exposure to some of the most complex projects. It was important that we localised resources.
“For the part of our business that covers oil and gas, we are domesticating key skills in Nigeria to support the whole of Africa. We are establishing two Centres of Excellence – one for our digital solutions and the other for our LNG solutions.”
