About 16,000 applicants have applied for just 295 spaces at the newly established College of Petroleum and Energy Studies (CPES) in Kaduna, a postgraduate institution created by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF).

The Executive Secretary of PTDF, Ahmed Aminu, disclosed this on Wednesday while leading members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on a tour of the college.

Aminu explained that while over 2,000 candidates applied for the PhD programme, only 45 would be admitted. Similarly, out of about 14,000 applicants for the Master’s degree, just 250 will be admitted in September when the college welcomes its first set of students.

“We already received over 2,000 applications for the PhD, but we are selecting only 45 at this pilot stage. For the Master’s, we have received about 14,000 applications, but we can accommodate only 250 candidates,” Aminu said.

He noted that the establishment of CPES aligns with PTDF’s mandate of building human and institutional capacity for Nigeria’s oil, gas, and energy sector. Since its creation in 1973, he said, the Fund has trained about 15,000 Nigerians locally and abroad.

Licensed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) as a private postgraduate institution, CPES will run 19 programmes across six departments and three faculties: the Faculty of Computing and Telecommunication Technology, the Faculty of Earth and Applied Sciences, and the Faculty of Energy Law and Management Sciences.

To deliver its programmes, PTDF has signed partnerships with three UK universities—University of Strathclyde, Robert Gordon University, and University of Portsmouth—under a split-site postgraduate model. Students will primarily study in Kaduna, with short academic stays in the UK.

Aminu added that the college is also partnering with NNPC Limited, through the NNPC Academy, to deliver professional development, career progression training, and technical and vocational courses. He confirmed that screening of the pioneer PhD candidates has been concluded, with resumption scheduled for September.

During the visit, PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo urged the college to design research and training that directly address challenges in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, including oil theft, environmental degradation, and the rehabilitation of refineries.

“Though the infrastructure here is excellent and can compare with any specialised training institutions around the world, what is most important is its contribution to solving challenges confronting our sector. Our wish is to see the PhD students who will resume next month focused on solution-driven research,” Osifo said.

He also called for stronger collaboration between the government and private sector to strengthen human capacity in the energy industry, praising the Federal Government’s efforts to continually train oil and gas professionals.