The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria says it will this September offer 10 scholarships for a one-year Master’s degree programme.

The Imperial College, London; University College, London, and the University of Leeds, the SPDC said, would be partners in the initiative.

According to the SPDC spokesperson, Precious Okolobo, the programme is under its Niger Delta Postgraduate scholarship scheme.

He said, “This scheme, which enters its fifth year, will give opportunity to more candidates to acquire higher education in these three top universities in the United Kingdom.”

The scheme, he added, would provide opportunities for graduates from Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states to study oil and gas-related courses, especially in engineering and geosciences.

Meanwhile, the firm’s General Manager, Nigerian Content Development, Igo Weli, said the feedback since the inauguration of the programme four years ago had been impressive.

He added, “Many of the students have been employed by the SPDC and other companies. In fact, the University of Leeds retained a student for a doctoral programme due to his scholarly excellence. The Niger Delta Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme is sowing the seeds for a greater Nigerian oil and gas industry.”

Weli stated that the programme “is for candidates aged between 21 and 28, who have obtained a degree equivalent to the Second Class Upper and have intellectual ability and leadership potential.”

The Niger Delta Postgraduate Scholarship scheme is in addition to SPDC’s regular scholarship programme, which was introduced in the 1950s through which thousands of Nigerians have been sponsored in diverse fields of study.