The Federal Government, through the Federal Executive Council, has approved the award of the Phase 1 engineering, procurement, and construction contract for the Oloibiri Museum & Research Centre (OMRC) in Bayelsa State’s Ogbia Local Government Area.
President Muhammadu Buhari presided over the FEC meeting on Wednesday, which approved the scope of work, which included a masterpiece museum and a research center.
The project awarded to Julius Berger with a 30-month completion period is expected to close a major gap in the nation’s quest for homegrown technology inputs required to service exploration and production activities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
It was also discovered that the establishment of OMRC has been in the concept stage for more than three decades, and the inability to move forward to the construction phase is viewed as a historical oversight, as an operational museum and research center would preserve the heritage and developments in the oil and gas sector, similar to what occurs in other oil-producing nations.
According to a statement issued by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB’s Department of Corporate Communications, the project has four development partners, including the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), and the Bayelsa State Government (BYSG), and each entity would contribute.
The statement continues: “The project team for the symbolic project was first launched in August 2020 by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, with the inauguration of key project committees and setting of delivery timelines.”
The project has been approved as part of President Buhari’s signature programs that will leave lasting legacies for the oil and gas industry, the people of the Niger Delta, and the entire nation.
The project’s historical essence is to transform the site of the first oil discovery into a monumental edifice that will preserve the heritage and developments in the oil and gas sector.
The project’s socioeconomic impact includes job creation, tourism, research and technology development, and the integration of oil and gas host communities into the country’s mainstream development narrative.
The groundbreaking ceremony is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2023, following contract approval, and will mark the beginning of the improvement in the quality of life of the immediate host community, Bayelsa State, and the people of the Niger Delta.
In response to the approval, Chief Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, praised President Muhammadu Buhari for his special affection for the Niger Delta region.
To ensure that the OMRC project was completed on time, the project established two committees and five project teams to provide the necessary support and supervision.
The committees include the Steering Committee, which is in charge of providing leadership, and the Coordinating Committee, which is in charge of providing oversight on the activities of all the [5] project teams, which include Construction, Funds Mobilization and Management, Community Relations, Health, Safety, and Environment, as well as the Secretariat, which is located at the NCDMB Head Office in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
