Geoscience Data Bottleneck: SGCG Calls for Openness

The Society of Geophysicists and Computational Geoscientists (SGCG) has raised concerns over the growing trend of data hoarding in Nigeria’s geoscience industry, warning that it is crippling research, stifling innovation, and limiting the contributions of young scientists to national development.

Speaking at the SGCG’s second annual international conference, the Society’s President, Prof. Aaron Enechojo Auduson, stressed that access to reliable data is crucial for exploration, analysis, and characterisation of natural resources.

Auduson compared the situation in Nigeria with Europe, where universities and companies collaborate by providing software, laboratory facilities, and datasets to advance research. He lamented that restricted access to accurate local data often forces Nigerian scientists to rely on foreign datasets.

“From the surface, we cannot see what lies beneath. Geophysics allows us to detect, model, and predict the depth, volume, and viability of subsurface resources. Without accurate data, our economy loses, because our strength lies in the natural resources beneath the earth,” he said.

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In his keynote address, NUPRC Chief Executive, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, reaffirmed the regulator’s commitment to positioning Nigeria as a global leader in the evolving energy landscape. Represented by Paul Osu, Director of the Lagos Regional Office, Komolafe stressed the need for stronger alignment between science and policy in shaping the petroleum sector.

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Also speaking, the President of the Geological Society of Nigeria (GSN), Malami Uba Saidu, called for better data governance and the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital platforms to modernise Nigeria’s geoscience practice and resource management.