The management of Duport Midstream Company Limited (DMCL), an energy park, has promised to offer internship to 100 students across engineering disciplines from each of the top six Nigerian universities.
Akintoye Akindele, the chief executive officer of the company, who state this during an inspection tour of the facility alongside other partners in Egbokor, Orhionmwon local government area of Edo State, on Wednesday, said the first 100 recipients would be students from Obafemi Awolowo University once the energy park comes on stream.
Akindele said the first phase of the facility, which has a modular refinery operations, gas processing facility, data centre and power plant, would go live by April 2022, starting with a 2,500 barrel per day refinery, 40-million-scf gas processing, 5megawatts power, a data centre and storage facility.
“We are proud to announce to give 100 students internship every year to experience this project. For a start, we will offer internship program to 100 students from Obafemi Awolowo University and their emoluments will be based on minimum wage and will be housed in the staff quarters.
“Afterwards, it will be extended to top six universities across the country, amounting to 600 students,” Akindele said.
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He said once the project becomes operational, it would “reduce oil import dependency on products, create jobs, diversify foreign currency sources and reduce the pressure on foreign currency from import”.
The chief executive officer, while noting that the project has over 70 percent local content with 95 percent total workforce being Nigerians, opined that the data centre of the energy park is Tier-IV, making it the second in Nigeria and sixth in West Africa.
“This is an energy park from a point of view of all the sources such as gas, power, oil and then added data centre technology. We have fused old industry of energy and new of technology to create a carbon-accretive, modern day business that not only impart environment positively, create jobs and also boost confidence of local engineers.
“Hundreds of millions of dollars have gone into this project and this is 99 percent locally funded by government through the Nigerian Content Development Board (NCDMB), by bankers through the First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Union Bank, Zenith Bank and Polaris bank. percent of that funding has been local shareholders,” he added.
Eyitope Ogunbodede, vice chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, expressed gratitude to the management of Duport, pledging the institution’s readiness to work with the firm.
“I am here as the vice chancellor to represent the management, staff and students to say thank you to the partners of this project. We believe there are mutual benefit we can drive from this partnership.
“We are looking forward to a time when our students will come here to enjoy the good things happening to Nigerian students. We are not only talking of our students, our staff will also want to be here to see how they can work with the company,” Ogunbodede said.
