By Obiabin Onukwugha
Nigeria’s energy giant, NNPC Limited, has donated a state-of-the-art Geosciences Centre of Excellence to the University of Lagos (UNILAG), to strengthen energy education and research in the country.
The facility multi-million naira project was donated in partnership with Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
A statement by NNPCL said the Centre boasts of a 250-seat auditorium, geoscience and instrumentation laboratories, a rock preparation workshop, hydrogeology, mineralogy, environmental geology, sedimentary and palaeoenvironmental sciences laboratories.
It also includes a seismic interpretation room, a modern library, a digital museum, and collaborative spaces for students and researchers and supported by a 600 kVA transformer, a 40 kVA solar power facility, and a field investigation coaster bus.
The Centre was commissioned at the weekend by the Chief Upstream Investment Officer of NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services Ltd. (NUIMS), Olanrewaju Igandan, alongside the Managing Director of SNEPCo, Ronald Adams; Director of Capacity Building (NCDMB), Abayomi Bamidele; Lagos State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Sule; and the Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG, Professor Folasade Ogunsola.
“By connecting academia, industry, and government under one roof, the Centre provides Nigerian students and researchers with hands-on access to modern energy tools, reduces the oil and gas industry’s reliance on international markets for testing and training, and builds the in-country expertise Nigeria’s energy sector needs,” the statement said.
NNPCL in the statement reiterated its commitment to driving capacity building, supporting national development, and working with partners to secure a stronger energy future for Nigeria.
