Prof. Akuma A. Oji is a Professor of Chemical Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Port Harcourt, with over 22 years of tremendous experience spanning industry, teaching and research, particularly in training on Energy Transition and Gas Monetization, Model Predictive Control (MPC), Tank Farm Operations, Drilling/Well Completion and Control Valve Engineering. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Port Harcourt, in addition to other degrees and certifications, and is known for his dedication, self-motivation, and result-oriented approach. His skills, work experience and expertise span Well Development Studies, Drilling and Well Completion, Chemical Well Instability, Cementing Additives Development and Testing, Process Instrumentation, P&ID Interpretation, Crude Oil Assay, HAZOP, Process Safety and Green/Renewable Energy.
Prof. Oji is profoundly dedicated to knowledge transfer and acquisition through teaching, training, research and mentoring. He heads the NLNG Centre at the University of Port Harcourt, which is dedicated to training and educating young and experienced experts in the oil and gas industry, and has coordinated several consultancy and training services in Refining, Energy, Drilling and Well Completion, and Control Valve Engineering for a number of IOCs, having facilitated activities, projects and trainings for NNPC Academy, MSM, WTS, SPDC, CNL, Conoil, Panocean, NPDC, FODE and ARADEL, among others. Academically, he has served as a facilitator for the World Bank scholar programme at the World Bank Centre of Excellence for Oilfield Chemical Research (ACE-CEFOR) at the University of Port Harcourt, the Centre for Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Engineering (CGRP) and the Offshore Technology Institute (OTI), and has received several awards and accolades along the way.
His research has produced over 65 publications, mostly in peer-reviewed and high-impact journals and conferences in Nigeria and abroad, and he is committed to raising young professionals, having guided a considerable number of BEng/BSc, MEng/MSc and PhD graduates through their academic journeys, including current supervision of ongoing PhD research. He is a registered engineer with COREN (R32922), a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE – 20761), the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers (NSChE – M3058), and the National Registry of Environmental Professionals (NREP – A2050), among other affiliations, and his wide participation across industry, academics and the professional space makes him an outstanding asset in many spheres.
Prof. Oji joined the University of Port Harcourt in March 2008 as Lecturer II in the Department of Chemical Engineering, rising through Lecturer I (2012), Senior Lecturer (2017) and Reader (2021) to Professor in October 2024, and has since 2022 served as Director of the Centre for Gas, Refining & Petrochemical Engineering, having earlier served as Acting Head of the Chemical Engineering Department between 2018 and 2020. Before joining academia, he spent close to six years, from July 2002 to March 2008, as a Senior Project Engineer with Hyundai Heavy Industries (Nigeria) Limited in Warri, where he coordinated third-party inspection activities, project package and technical delivery from engineering design to site construction, and Nigerian Local Content implementation that facilitated over 150,000 local man-hours on specific technical projects, including service on the HHI Engineering Management Team for the Escravos Gas Project.
Beyond the university, he maintains an active independent consultancy practice, having led concept and feasibility studies for a proposed methanol and urea plant in Nigeria for EEMS Nigeria (2024–2025), served as Consultant Project Manager for the development of a specialty chemicals plant for Eldov Transnational Services Limited (2025), and delivered training in drilling operations and control valve engineering for Credle Solution Inc and Alps Training Solutions (2024). From 2007 to 2024 he was Consultant Team Lead at Tidalflow Nigeria Limited, where he led facility audits, gas data collection and monitoring, and baseline and environmental impact assessment studies across more than 40 facilities for clients including Dozzy Oil & Gas, Conoil Producing, the Nigerian Agip Oil Company, Pan Ocean Oil Company and Energia Limited, among others. He has also served as a Mud Logging Data Analyst for Ayoci Energies Limited (2023) and as a Training Facilitator on oil and gas operations for FODE (2023) in Lagos and Benin.
