Oloibiri Museum Ready In 30 Months, Says NCDMB Boss
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In the next 30 months, construction work on the Oloibiri Museum and Research Centre, OMRC, will end and the project handed over handed over by construction giants, Julius Berger, says the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Omatsola Ogbe.
Ogbe said this in Abuja on Thursday at a ceremony to mark the engineering, procurement, and construction contract signing with Julius Berger PLC for the development of the OMRC, to be located at Otuabagi, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The Oloibiri Museum and Research Centre (OMRC) is being financed by the Petroleum Development Technology Fund (PTDF), NCDMB, Shell Petroleum Development Company/Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd and the Bayelsa State Government, in the ratio of 40:30:20 and 10 respectively.
The project is registered by guarantee, with the four organisations serving as partners. The contract agreement has been approved by the partners and signed by Julius Berger PLC. The Executive Secretary of NCDMB serves as the chairman of the registered company, hence he signed the contract on behalf of the partners, with the Director Legal Services, NCDMB, Mr. Naboth Onyesoh, serving as the Secretary of the company.
According to Ogbe, the project was conceived in recognition of the birthplace of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon commercial production journey which commenced in 1958 and added that President Bola Tinubu believes that the project is long overdue hence the multi-level government and private sector collaboration to actualize the establishment of the project.
The OMRC project is expected to deliver a world-class oil and gas museum, showcasing the history of crude oil production in Nigeria and display of geological formations, early equipment, tools, and platforms used in the evolution of oil and gas activities.
In addition, the research testing center that will provide a facility where field trials of prototypes of oil and gas related indigenous research will be conducted, grant access to university students in oil and gas related disciplines to potentially better understand indigenous oil and gas technology advancements.
The project will also facilitate the commercialization of research through the creation of a suitable ecosystem for the development of home-grown technology for oil and gas operations and create a new commercial value chain from Museum and Research operations that will generate employment for Nigerians.
A former president, Muhammadu Buhari had, in February 2023, awarded the contract for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction scope of the OMRC to Julius Berger at the sum of N117billion.
The groundbreaking ceremony was performed in February 2023, a colorful ceremony attended by leading government officials, oil and gas stakeholders and community members.
