What You Should Know About The Nigerian Who California’s Governor Just Named State Oil & Gas Supervisor

A Nigerian, Uduak-Joe Ntuk, who is from the Port City of Calabar, Cross River State, has just landed a major appointment from Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California.

Ntuk has just been named the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, responsible for managing the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR). He is the first Nigerian-American to hold this position in the history of California.

Ntuk graduated from St. Anthony High School in Long Beach before earning his A.A. degree in liberal arts from Long Beach City College.

He worked a series of security jobs to provide for his family and save money to return to school. He was accepted to California State University Long Beach and began pursuing a degree in chemical engineering while continuing to work part-time.

An active member of the campus community, Uduak-Joe helped create a student bill of rights, protested student fee increases, and fought for a more sustainable campus by requiring the Student Recreation Center be the first LEED Certified building on campus.

He earned his B.S. degree in chemical engineering from California State University at Long Beach, while his M.S. degree in petroleum engineering was obtained from the University of Southern California. He also holds a certificate in global logistics from California State University at Long Beach.

Ntuk began working as a professor at California State University at Long Beach in August 2015, and he began working as the petroleum administrator for the second-largest city in the United States; the City of Los Angeles, in October 2016.

In Los Angeles, he was responsible for oversight and policy of oil fields, gas storage facilities, petroleum refineries, and pipeline franchise agreements.

He also has experience working for Earth Tech, General Electric, Tyco, and Chevron. He has served on the personnel commission at the Long Beach Community College District and has worked with the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Board Youth Council.

Ntuk has also volunteered in the Long Beach Unified School District as a PTA officer, chaperone, district committee representative, and public speaker.

In April 2018, Ntuk defeated incumbent, Jeffrey Kellogg, in the general election for Long Beach Community College District Trustee Area 1 and he has held that office since then.

A statement from the Office of the Governor of California stated that Ntuk is “a strong believer in Nigeria and its potentials, had expressed his will to share his expertise to further develop the Nigerian petroleum industry and the possibilities of building a mutually-beneficial relationship with the State of California.”

The statement also suggested that a Nigerian-based oil and gas consulting company was working on various possibilities and has initiated discussions regarding building a business relationship between the Nigerian oil and gas industry and the State of California through. And Ntuk is the person making all of it happen.

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