“All welders in the oil and gas industry are foreigners.”

In a shocking revelation, industry expert, Seabery Regional Manager for Africa and Middle East, Abdennoulocalr Edouieb, yesterday revealed that one hundred percent of welders in the Nigerian oil and gas steel sector are foreigners.

The expert also raises concerns about the lack of opportunities for local welders in a country of over 200 million people.

Edouieb disclosed this in Abuja during a meeting with steel stakeholders at the Nigerian Institute of Mechanical Engineers (NIMechE), stressing the importance of creating a well-organized and structured sector that not only embraces local specifications but also sets local standards.

The expert stressed that there is a significant loophole in the system as none of these foreign welders have the necessary qualifications to work in the oil and gas industry in order to train more Nigerians to strengthen the steel sector.

He noted that Seabery, in partnership with Nigeria Soldamatic, aims to train Nigerians to bridge the gap between international and local welders in the steel sector.

He said: “According to Nigeria, 100 percent of welders in the oil and gas sector come from outside Nigeria, which has a population of over 200 million.”

“So there is a loophole in the system. There is something that is not simple, something that needs to be fixed. We can start by modernizing and digitizing the system to achieve global standards, and then we can create regulations or policies.