Oil & Gas
By Anthony Isibor.
TIMIPRE Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources, has called for an increase in gender inclusiveness in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
Speaking at the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, NCCF, Diversity Working Group’s Conference held in Lagos on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, the minister noted that although women make up 48 percent of the global work force, they only account for 22 percent of the labour force in the oil and gas sector.
He added that there was need to harness the natural endowment, strength, intuition, knowledge and expertise of women for the growth of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
The call, according to him, became necessary because of the important role played by the oil and gas industry in the socio-economic development of the world, which it will continue to play even in the face of the growing call for energy transition, and because historically, women have shown to be very organized in uniting to form a common front, and have in many situations accomplished what seemed to be impossible or much difficult to achieve.
“To take advantage of the changing landscape, women in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry must work together towards increasing women participation in the industry, engendering growth, building capacities and capabilities, identifying opportunities, mentoring and coaching, in order for the industry to progress as a whole.
“In order for all these to happen, we need the buy-in, commitment and sponsorship of all players across the various segments of the oil and gas value chain to support the diversity and inclusion agenda.
“Furthermore, as technology evolves becoming more sophisticated, more women via STEM are moving into technology globally. You will agree with me that there’s a meeting point between tech and oil & gas. A classical case is robotics. It is common knowledge that the oil sector has since embraced bots and advanced automations such that unmanned platforms are fast becoming the norm,” he said.
The minister, who commended the Nigerian government for being deliberate in gender-friendly policies aimed at increasing access to funding, award of contracts and support for research and development in the interest of women operators in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, also said that more work needed to be done.
“There have been commendable achievements, but more can be achieved if women groups in the industry embrace one another. The time has come for the Association of Professional Women Engineers, APWEN, to join hands with the Women in Energy, Oil and Gas, WEOG. This is that platform where Commonwealth Business Women of Nigeria, CBWN, and the Women in Energy Network (WIEN) should work together in championing the course of women in the industry. As these groups rally around the Diversity SWG, it will lead to increased participation of women in the industry and make them influential stakeholders.
“This government, through its NCDMB – Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) partnership, has rolled out a $40-million fund to empower women in the oil industry, separate from the Nigerian Content Initiative, NCI, Fund which is equally available to women (and men) who meet the criteria.
“A new dawn began in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry when Elohor Aiboni became the Managing Director of SNEPCo and when Margrey Okadigbo became the pioneering chairperson of the NNPC Limited. When Elohor’s foundation in STEM played a critical part, and that is why I am an advocate of STEM today. We need to be deliberate in getting more girls into STEM and I am happy to note that this is one of the key focus areas of the Diversity Sectorial Working Group.
“Still, women need one another to survive the realities of this sector, whether locally or internationally. It is estimated that women occupy about 50 percent of non-technical positions at entry level compared to only 15 percent of technical and field role positions.
“Gender diversity and inclusion decreases with seniority. There is only a tiny proportion of women in executive positions. “The percentage of women in the industry drops over time from 36 percent to 24 percent between the middle and executive level,” a recent study by Global Energy Talent Index Report has indicated,” he added.
The minister also commended the NCDMB for recognizing the importance of women in nation building, and specifically in the growth and development of the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry and taking a commendable step in inaugurating the Diversity Sectorial Working Group under the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, NCCF as provided in Section 58 of the NOGICD Act.
– June 15, 2022 @ 17:05 GMT | AI.
Tags:
