Petroleum and Refinery

Biography

Professor Uriah Alexander Lar was born some 54 years ago in Langtang, Plateau State, Nigeria. He holds a B.Sc. (Hons) degree (Second Class Upper Division) in Geology and Mining from the University of Jos (1983) and was awarded the French Government scholarship for post-graduate studies in France where he obtained MSc degree in Geochemistry (Geochronology) from Universite des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, Montpellier, France and a PhD (Isotopes and Trace element Geochemistry) in January, 1992 from Universite Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France. He returned to Nigeria and joined the services of the University of Jos in February 1992. He has served, on two occasions, as the Head of Department of Geology and Mining in the University of Jos, Nigeria. He is a registered member of several professional bodies including the Geological Society of America (GSA), the Nigeria Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS) our umbrella professional body, Council of Mining Engineers and Geoscientists (COMEG), the Geological Society of Africa (GSAf) etc. He was in September, 2000 appointed by the Federal Government of Nigeria as the Chairman, Mineral Resources Committee of Plateau State, Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Abuja. He was at the fore front of the agitation for the creation of a full-fledged Ministry of Solid Minerals, to fast track development of the solid mineral sub-sector. Some of his submissions/presentations to the Senate House committee on Solid Minerals were: 1. Proposal presented before the Presidential Committee on the Accelerated and Sustainable Development of Nigeria Minerals Potential, during a 2-day National Workshop, Hamdala Hotel, Kaduna, 20th-21st Jan. 2003. 2. Action Plan for the Development of Solid Minerals in Plateau State. (July 2002). Presented to the Executive Governor of Plateau State as Chairman, Minerals Resources Committee of Plateau State. 3. The Way Forward for the Solid Minerals Development in Nigeria. Memorandum submitted to the 1st Nigerian Solid Minerals Summit 17th-18th September, 2001 at Nicon Hilton Hotel, Abuja His interest has always been to advance the geosciences, promote professional growth, and encourage service of his profession the geosciences. He sees the encouragement and training of young scientists as critical to the survival of geology and indeed the metal/mineral and the oil industry in Nigeria. These values encouraged him to look inwards and depend less on what is obtainable within the walls of the University. Thus, over the years, he established linkages and close collaborations with sister Universities locally and abroad as well as the mineral/oil and gas industry in Nigeria. He had been involved in different geological mapping projects through the following collaborations/linkages and has also been commissioned to carry out preliminary field mapping paving way for further oil exploration in one of Nigeria’s prospective inland basins. To mention but a few are: 1. The Joint University of Jos and the French Cooperation Project in Applied Geological Mapping. This project lasted for about 3 years (1991/1992 – 1994/95). Many academic staff and students of the Department of Geology and Mining were trained in geological field mapping techniques and map production. 2. The Stratigraphic and Structural studies of the Cretaceous sediment of the Gongola basin, of the Benue Trough (1996 – 1997) awarded to us by ELF Aquitaine. 3. He had on many occasions been invited as consultant/Resource person for various Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) projects of Regional Geological Mapping and Economic Geology. 4. Commissioned by the Nigerian Nation Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 2011, he led a team of experts where he conducted geological/stratigraphic mapping of the middle and upper Benue trough (from Markurdi – Wukari – Zurak – Gombe – Yola axis) an aerial extend of about 1000 km by 200 km. This project was successfully executed. 5. He was one of the initiators of collaboration between his University (the Department of Geology) with AHG University of Science and Technology, Krakov, Poland (well known for its coal technology) for capacity building in coal technology especially towards the development and utilization of coal for sustainable power generation in Nigeria. 6. He has been a principal researcher in the UNESCO/IGCP 606 Project working along with experts from 12 different countries on the Human health effects of major and abandoned mines in sub-Saharan Africa. This project began in 2011 and is scheduled to wind up this year 2014. He has worked assiduously over the years and has made frantic efforts and got the University of Jos, Department of Geology selected and upgraded by the Petroleum Technology and Development Fund (PTDF) to a “center of excellence” in the Geosciences. (A building was constructed at the permanent site of the University and well equipped with state of the art equipment). He also requested and got approval from the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) for the endowment of a Professorial Chair in his Department with the sole mandate of carrying out geological and oil/mineral potential investigation of the middle Benue trough, Nigeria. The Chair was endowed in 2008 to fulfill this mandate. He has served on several national solid mineral committees etc., associate editor/member of the editorial boards to several scientific journals and as external examiner for undergraduate, Masters and PhD degrees in different Universities in Nigeria. He has attended several local and international conferences, where he presented conference papers. He has exhibited tremendous interests in research where he has maintained a functional geochemical laboratory parallel with most geochemical laboratories abroad. He has over 40 peer-reviewed publications, most of which appear in some of the world’s most reputable journals of Applied Geochemistry.

Research Interest

Geochemistry, Earth Sciences, Isotope Geochemistry, Clay Minerals