3rd int’l conference on gas, refining, petrochemicals holds in Port Harcourt

Participants drawn from the oil and gas industry, petrochemicals, fertiliser, the academia will gather today at the Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for the 3rd edition of the international conference on gas, refining and petrochemicals.

This time, the conference participants under the Institute of Petroleum Studies (IPS), University of Port Harcourt, would include experts from the US and UK, most of whom would todaypresent technical papers on the current trends in the gas, refining, petrochemicals and fertiliser industries.

According to Godwin J. Igwe, a professor of Chemical Engineering, with many decades of teaching experience at the prestigious Texas A&M University in Texas and a World Bank McNamara Fellow, USA, the conference would be exploring the

opportunities that abound in the gas, refining, petrochemicals and fertiliser industries, and how young university graduates can gain employment here.

Igwe, who is the director of the Centre for Gas, Refining & Petrochemicals, Institute of Petroleum Studies (CGRP/IPS), University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), said the conference would also feature exhibition by companies, corporate paper presentations, panel discussions by industry experts, short courses and workshops by the NREP of USA on Environmental Certification, students session and field trip.

Joseph Ajienka, the vice chancellor of University of Port Harcourt, is the chief host; while Tim Okon, the group coordinator of corporate planning and strategy division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) would deliver the keynote address.

Tony Ogbuigwe, an engineer and the chairman of the governing board of CGRP, Institute of Petroleum Studies (IPS), who was the former group executive director of refining and petrochemicals at the NNPC, has promised that this conference has been packaged to meet global standard.

There are five sub-themes namely Employment Opportunities through our Gas, Petroleum Refining, Petrochemicals and Fertiliser Industries, panel discussions by Bode Agagu – NOTORE; Felix Amieyeofori, MD/CEO, Energia; Charles Odita, MD/CEO, Midwestern Oil; U. Bindir, DG/CEO, NOTAP; Igwe Achese, NUPENG; Igo Weli, Shell; Noble E. Pepple, 5executive director/CEO of RSSDA; Tim Okon, NNPC strategic planning director; PTDF executive secretary – registrar, COREN.

Others sub-themes for discussion are Petrochemicals and Fertiliser Products; Economic Growth on the back of Gas, Petroleum Refining, Petrochemicals and Fertiliser Industrial sectors; challenging our engineers on actionable, enabling, sustainable gas and petroleum refining, and environmental remediation technologies for gas, petroleum refining, petrochemicals and fertilizer pollutions.

Businessday