The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Council says it is ready to work with stakeholders to reposition Nigeria’s oil and gas industry post-COVID pandemic.

The new Chairman, SPE Nigeria Council, Mr Olatunji Akinwunmi, gave the assurance on Saturday.He was delivering his acceptance speech at the inauguration of the new officers, at the council’s Virtual Annual General Meeting.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Akinwunmi is taking over the leadership of the council from Mr Joseph Nwakwue.Akinwunmi noted that the past few months had been challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which had affected all aspects of life in all corners of the world.

He said the oil and gas industry was adversely affected, and the SPE rose to the challenge in distributing palliatives across many locations in the country.“The focus for the coming year will be to work with all stakeholders to reposition the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.”

We have three main challenges : climate change and sustainability concerns, impact of the COVID-19 and crash in crude oil prices, “Akinwunmi said.According to him, the stakeholders include the oil companies, regulatory and government agencies,  SPE members and other professional organisations in the sector.Akinwunmi,  on behalf of the new council members,  thanked the SPE Nigeria for the confidence reposed in them.

He promised that they would continue to abide by the ideals and objectives of the association.On his part, Nwakwue thanked the members of the association for the support given to the immediate-past leadership.This, he said, enabled it to carry out various programmes including the recently concluded Energy Industry Transformation Summit (NEITS).He also disclosed that over 500 individuals benefited from the palliatives shared by the council during the coronavirus pandemic.Nwakwue said :

“I must thank our Board of Trustee members for their counsel, advice and support through the year.“It is to your credit that SPE Nigeria rose to the challenges of the past year, and I have no doubt that our society remains healthy, strong and fit for the future

Source:- NAN