Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), has strongly encouraged indigenous oil and gas companies to strengthen technical capability in order to close existing gaps in the country’s oil and gas industry.

The group said that as an association of indigenous technical oilfield service companies, it will pursue partnerships across the sector to broaden technical gaps and entrench skills and knowledge acquisition among members.

Making his remarks on Monday during its round Media Roundtable, in Lagos, Publicity Secretary of the PETAN, Dr. Joan Faluyi, said the event’s technical capability would form an integral part of discussion.

He said the theme, The State of Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry: Opportunities and Challenges,” provides an opportunity to examine where we are, what needs attention, and what it will take to move forward.

The conversation brings the perspective of businesses and professionals directly involved in delivering the work of the industry.

That perspective connects investment plans and policy ambitions with the people, equipment, skills and services needed to put them into practice.

Faluyi, remarked, “When we speak about indigenous capacity, we are speaking about the engineer solving a difficult problem, the technician maintaining critical equipment, the fabricator producing to the required standard, and the young professional gaining the experience to take on greater responsibility.

“We are also speaking about entrepreneurs who invest in facilities, develop their teams and carry the responsibility of delivering work safely, reliably and competitively.”

He argued that the opportunities and challenges before these businesses deserve attention because their ability to grow has implications for employment, skills development and the value Nigeria retains fromits petroleum resources.

“As we consider the industry’s future, we should therefore ask practical questions. How can investment create more opportunities for capable Nigerian companies? What will enable these businesses to strengthen their expertise and compete on quality? How can young Nigerians gain the practical experience needed to build lasting careers in the sector?

He said these are questions worth examining carefully, with evidence and with an understanding of the realities of doing the work.

According to him, Technical experience is valuable, and so is the ability to explain that experience clearly, answer questions and listen to different perspectives.

By Fransiscus Nanga Roka

A patient was treated every ninth second, which alone would suggest that there were problems with emergency health care spending before the use of federal money from the U.S.

Treasury. Dr. Joseph A. Montes’ prosecution in Houston has raised concerns regarding how well emergency health care spending could distinguish between legitimate medical services and possibly a fraudulent billing scheme.

Montes, 66, was indicted on twelve federal charges on September 30, 2026. The indictment was unsealed on October 6, 2026 by the Justice Department. Prosecutors allege that from 2020 to 2022, Montes’ clinics were reimbursed approximately $20 million out of the $30 million that the clinics claimed to receive from the Health Resources and Services Administration.

As of now, these allegations are merely charges, and therefore Montes remains presumed innocent.

The prosecutors state that how he was able to commit these offenses was quite straightforward. He established pop-up COVID-19 clinic locations using his own name; collected nasal swabs from individuals attending those clinic locations; and submitted billing to insurance companies for “office visits” which the prosecutors allege did not occur. From January to November 2021, the prosecutors believe he submitted approximately 3,000 evaluation-and-management claims during at least 29 separate time

frames. Along with the claims, prosecutors are also alleging he paid for a purchase of a high-end vehicle from a car dealer and items from Tiffany & Co.

If this is indeed correct, it would represent a massive breach of confidence that has been placed upon physicians. This would indicate that all people that had gone to seek testing during the time period of the pandemic were being used as mere tools to extract money from the public.

The mathematics of this situation are extremely important to ensure the accuracy of the data. For example, simply because there were 9,000 claims submitted in a single day doesn’t necessarily mean that 9,000 consultations occurred that same day. In many cases, a legitimate provider can send in multiple claims at once as part of a batch. Therefore, investigators will need to determine when services were provided; who was responsible for providing those services; what percentage of the total number of employees working during the period of service provision; whether documentation exists regarding the services provided; and if patients were actually seen by clinicians.

This is intended to provide greater responsibility for your actions. When you discover something unusual or out of place (an anomaly), this should encourage you to delve deeper into the matter. To establish evidence of fraud, you need to provide supporting documentation.

This is a much broader policy question that cannot be avoided. Although emergency reimbursement needs to occur quickly, when quick reimbursements occur without a reasonable degree of verification, there are many opportunities for abuse. At the same time, if all reimbursements were frozen indiscriminately, then we may create a great deal of financial stress for legitimate health care professionals and limit patient access to necessary care. Therefore, an appropriate level of monitoring must distinguish between suspected fraudulent billing practices and the high-volume use of tests. Washington needs five concrete reforms.

The next generation of emergency program administrators, including HRSA, must develop and use billing validation systems to check whether the billed service is consistent with the documented clinical capability. When a large volume of services is billed, and it appears highly unlikely that such a service can be delivered given the clinical capability documented, then an immediate human review is required. For the purpose of protecting legitimate providers from unfairly having their payments reduced or withheld, the human reviews will have time limits for responses and a formalized appeal process.

The second condition is that there needs to be an identifiable relationship between each of the encounters being reimbursed, the date of service, the clinician performing the service, and any other pertinent documentation. In addition, the billing agent may not use their authority to convert a diagnostic test into a separate consultation and then bill separately for that diagnostic test.

The third way to help patients identify fraudulent claims is to send patients simple, clear notifications about which services they received that are being charged to them. Also, providing an easy-to-use way for patients to challenge those charges will help patients spot potential fraudulent claims without sharing too much of their personal health information.

The fourth step for both Congress and the Inspector General at HHS is to have an outside entity conduct an assessment of the program’s control mechanisms (e.g., how often people receive warning notices, if people acknowledge receiving warning notices, what the payment contractor did once they received warning notices) using an objective analysis. There is enough evidence in the indictment to indicate that the program’s control mechanisms were insufficient, however there is no evidence that indicates negligence on the part of regulatory agencies.

Fifth, prosecutors must pursue every participant as established through evidence, and once their guilt is determined, the prosecutor may use the law to recover the criminal proceeds. Each disciplinary action against a professional will be based on an independent review of the evidence and in order to safeguard the right to due process.

Successful performance of a program is measured by the reduction of incorrect payments, resolution time of alerts, money collected from fraud, and continuous availability of legitimate healthcare services for individuals who require them rather than solely through the number of arrests.

A global lesson about emergency medical services funding has been learned from outside of Houston. Each government which provides financial assistance to emergency medical service providers must create a governance framework as part of its funding application.

A criminal court will determine whether one physician is accountable for what occurred. At the same time, a public inquiry should establish whether the system created to protect emergency healthcare funding was adequate enough to accomplish this. The taxpayers would like to have answers from the government as well. The patients are looking for a system that can understand its mistakes before the next crisis occurs.

Fransiscus Nanga Roka

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Monday in Lagos, unveiled its Revision 2 of the Nigerian Gas Transportation Network Code to strengthen gas transportation regulations, improve market efficiency and facilitate trade.

The Authority’s Chief Executive, Rabiu Umar, made the public launch of the Code at the 20th edition of OTL Africa Downstream Energy Week 2026 in Lagos.

Umar said that the revised code provided clearer rules for gas measurement, nominations and transportation, thereby promoting transparency and improving coordination among network users.

He said that participation in the gas transportation network had increased, with more shippers joining since the introduction of Revision 1.

He added that imbalances on the western gas network had declined by 30 per cent since the earlier version was introduced.

Umar said that effective gas transportation regulations were essential to improving network operations and supporting the growth of Nigeria’s gas market.

Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser to the President on Energy (Oil and Gas), in her remarks said that gas remained critical to power generation, industrial development and transportation.

Verheijen, who was represented by Eriye Onagoruwa, Team Lead in the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, emphasised the importance of regulatory certainty and investment in gas infrastructure.

She said that predictable regulations would help attract the investments required to develop gas infrastructure and expand the use of gas across the economy.

Dr. Mumuni Dagazau, Executive Vice-President, Downstream, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC Ltd.) said that investment in gas infrastructure was essential to developing the country’s energy value chain.

Dagazau stressed the need for improved coordination among industry stakeholders and regional cooperation to promote energy market integration and cross-border trade.

Tunji Oyebanji, Chairman of the OTL Africa Downstream Advisory Board, said infrastructure development and efficient logistics were critical to strengthening Africa’s downstream energy markets.

He said that commercial partnerships among African countries would help expand energy trade and create investment opportunities across the region.

Republic Of Niger Tightens Petrol Market as Supply Gap Increases

The new policy says marketers would not sell fuel between nine at night and six in the morning to enable suppliers, including the Nigerien Petroleum Company (Sonidep), to restock them.

It said this temporary measure aimed to improve the smooth running of operations while guaranteeing deliveries and the availability of petrol, following a countrywide shortage.

But the measure is impacting taxi drivers, like Moussa Idé Boubacar, who said he has not been able to make his payments for two days.

“Normally, we generate revenue of around 20,000 a day, of which 8,000 is for payments and 12,000 is for fuel. With this shortage, we’ve had some management issues,” he said.

As the fuel shortage spreads, motorists have been facing increasingly long queues at stations.

Residents in the capital, Niamey, and elsewhere said this was disrupting daily life, making it difficult to get to work and carry out their daily activities.

The taxi union, Synctaxi, has called for the new curfew to be relaxed for operators who are struggling to make ends meet.

“To obtain fuel, you need authorisation. The petrol station must be open around the clock,” said its secretary-general, Ganda Sanda.

“We are appealing to the governorate and the governor as well to reconsider because it does not suit us,” he said.

Sanda added that the union wanted to draw the authorities’ attention to the fact that the transport sector “makes a significant contribution to the country’s development”.

In addition to the curfew, the sale of fuel in jerry cans outside stations has also been prohibited in all areas that have at least one petrol station.

The authorities have called on Nigeriens to show “understanding and civic-mindedness” saying the measures were aimed at improving supply.