NCDMB, Seplat partner to launch gas centre of excellence at DELSU

Key officials of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Seplat Energy Plc have met with principal officers of Delta State University (DELSU) to finalise processes for the take‑off of a Centre of Excellence in Gas Development approved for the institution in 2024.

The centre is part of a broader initiative that includes similar facilities at six other Nigerian universities, among them, Niger Delta University, Amassoma,

Federal University of Technology, Minna, Federal University of Technology, Akure and Federal University of Technology, Owerri.

It follows a research by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), commissioned by NCDMB, which outlined a 10‑year roadmap for research and development in the nation’s oil and gas industry.

Speaking at the event, NCDMB Director of Corporate Services, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, who represented Executive Secretary Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, in a statement, said the board and Seplat had held multiple engagements since 2024 to define the centre’s scope in infrastructure, equipment, capacity development, research policy and sustainability.

He confirmed that both managements had endorsed the scope and assembled a team of technical experts to manage the process.

Halilu said “The Executive Secretary is fully committed to the project, not just at the development phase but even during execution.”

Seplat’s Nigerian Content Manager, Mr. Simeon Ogari, noted that his company,  operator of the 300 MMscfd ANOH Gas Processing Plant, chose DELSU due to its proximity to Seplat’s main operational base.

He stressed the need for a “Triple Helix Model” of collaboration among government, institution and private sector.

Project management firm GOSHEN’s CEO, Mr. Leonard Okafor, explained that the PwC study identified five R&D focus areas: Collaboration, Infrastructure, Capability, Legal Framework and Funding.

He listed requirements from host institutions, including secondment of research and administrative staff, and existing policy documents.

DELSU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Samuel Oghenovo Asagba, thanked NCDMB and Seplat, assuring them that the university recently rated by Times Higher Education as Nigeria’s best state‑owned university has high‑calibre academics in science and engineering.

NCDMB General Manager for Quality Assurance, Mr. Chris Osuji, pledged active oversight from inception to completion, while Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Silas Ajimijaye, thanked Seplat for funding and urged DELSU to “etch its name in gold.”