Eni’s subsidiary, Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) has announced the award of scholarships to 30 Nigerian graduates for postgraduate studies in Nigerian and overseas Universities.
The award under its 2024/2025 Scholarship Awards Scheme was done on behalf of its joint venture under the NAE production sharing contract (PSC) being operated in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Under the scheme, the company said 10 beneficiaries would undertake postgraduate studies in various Universities in the United Kingdom and Canada, while the remaining awardees would pursue their postgraduate studies in Nigerian Universities in disciplines such as Engineering, Geosciences, Petroleum and Environmental Technology, Renewable Energy and Petroleum Law.
At the ceremony held to award the beneficiaries in Abuja, the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of NAE, Fabrizio Bolondi, congratulated the awardees, stating that the scholarship awards would present them with the opportunity to pursue their dreams and achieve their career objectives.
“The award ceremony highlights our continuous commitment to the future of education, innovation, and progress in Nigeria, and a moment of pride for the company to recognize the incredible talent and dedication of the scholars”, he stated, enjoining the beneficiaries to remain focused on their studies to capture the full benefits of the initiative.
The postgraduate scholarship scheme was instituted by NAE PSC partners in 2007 as part of the company’s human capital development initiatives to promote knowledge acquisition and bridge the skills gap in specialized fields relevant to deep offshore Oil & Gas operations in Nigeria.
The company said winners were selected among over 600 shortlisted applicants, based on their excellent academic standing and their performances at the recently conducted Computer Based Testing (CBT).
To date, the company said 320 graduates have benefitted from the Postgraduate Scholarship Schemes, instituted to contribute to the training of local professionals, providing the knowledge and skills required within the industry.
“Eni, through NAE, has implemented other sustainability initiatives in Nigeria in areas of health, education, access to water and infrastructure provisions, as well as specific initiatives for stakeholder empowerment in local communities”, the company said in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
“These include provision of 22 integrated water schemes for domestic consumption and irrigation purposes in North-East Nigeria and Abuja Federal Capital Territory, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to improve access to water for the communities affected by the humanitarian crisis in North-East Nigeria.
“Others are the provision of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) equipment to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Port Harcourt; Cardiothoracic equipment, including Heart-Lung Machine LivaNova (Sorin/Stockert) S5 complete system at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano; as well as a Research and Innovation Laboratory at the University of Lagos, Nigeria”, it added.
Nigerian Agip Exploration (NAE) was incorporated in 1996 to manage the company’s deep offshore exploration and production assets. NAE has the distinction of being the first oil and gas company in Nigeria to produce oil from the country’s deep offshore. NAE has interests in six deep offshore blocks in Nigeria, either as Operator or as Co-Venturer.
