Dr. Bello Gusau, the Executive Secretary of, the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) says unlocking hydrocarbon resources in inland basins will help to meet growing energy demands in the country.

Gusau said this in Nsukka at the 2022/Exploration and Production Workshop organized by the PTDF Professorial Chair of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Prof. Ayonma Mode.

The workshop tagged: “Integrated Approach to Unlocking the Hydrocarbon Potential of Cretaceous Basins: The case of the Anambra Basin and the Southern Benue Trough, Nigeria”.

Gusau, represented by Mr. Mannir Abubakar, PTDF’s Head of Research and Documentation, said that the workshop was expected to proffer lasting solutions to challenges militating against petroleum exploration and exploitation in the cretaceous basins of the country.

“The workshop theme has bearing on the intent and focus of the mandate of the PTDF, which is the development of relevant indigenous competencies and capacities that will provide the country with efficient and effective mechanisms for the utilization of its abundant oil and gas resources.

“It is my belief that this workshop has the necessary intellectual base and platform to proffer workable solutions to unlock the inherent potentials of the sector,” he said.

He said that PTDF, established in 1973, was saddled with the responsibility of developing the capacities, capabilities, and competencies of Nigerians in the oil and gas industry.

“The fund has over the years developed and executed various laudable programs and projects for the development of indigenous manpower and technology in the oil and gas industry for the effective utilization of Nigerian crude oil resources.

“The professorial endowment programs have made a tremendous impact in developing relevant capacities in the sector.

“PTDF will continue to support cutting-edge research that will be of significant benefit to the entire value chain of the Nigeria oil industry,” he said.

The PTDF boss commended Mode for the diligence, commitment, and hard work that he had continuously displayed in discharging his duty as the Professorial Chair of PTDF in UNN.

“Mode’s different intellectual and scholastic contributions at different fora as the PTDF chair has significantly justified the huge resources the fund is committing to the endowment,” he said.

Prof. Charles Igwe, the Vice Chancellor (V-C) of UNN, also commended the professorial chair over the workshop, in which he expressed optimism that would provide solutions to some challenges in the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas in the Anambra Basin.

“I have no doubt the workshop will proffer solutions towards unlocking the hydrocarbon resources in the Anambra basin,” he said.

The V-C, who was represented by Prof. Johnson Urama, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, urged the participants to give the workshop the attention it deserved towards moving the oil and gas industry to the next level.

Earlier, Mode said that the workshop, which brought experts from both academia and the oil industry, was mainly to discuss how to unlock hydrocarbon resources.

“This workshop is focused on the best approach to ensure that the potentially vast hydrocarbon resources of Anambra Basin and Southern Benue Trough are unlocked.

“For the benefit of the nation, experts from the oil industry and academia will be brainstorming on topical issues concerning oil and gas,” he said.

Mode commended PTDF for its investment in the university professorial chair, promising that it would continue to do its best by engaging in research work that would move the industry to a greater height.

Participants were drawn from academia and the oil and gas sector across the country.

Some of the participants interviewed by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), expressed appreciation to the organizers.

They also expressed optimism that the workshop would go a long way in solving some of the challenges facing oil exploration and exploitation in inland basins of the country.