Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) have commissioned a state-of-the-art Geosciences Centre of Excellence at the University of Lagos — a landmark investment in Nigerian scientific and technical capacity.
The five-storey facility, inaugurated on April 17, is equipped with advanced infrastructure for hydrogeology, mineralogy, environmental geology, and seismic interpretation, as well as a digital library and museum. It is designed to support both undergraduate and postgraduate studies, and to reduce the oil and gas industry’s dependence on international markets for testing, training, and research.
“This Centre represents a long-term investment in Nigeria’s greatest asset — its people,” said SNEPCo Managing Director Ronald Adams at the commissioning ceremony. Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Commissioner for Tertiary Education Tola Sule, said the facility would create an environment where students “don’t just learn by textbooks but by doing.”
NNPC’s Chief Upstream Investment Officer Olanrewaju Igandan called the handover a testament to what can be achieved when industry, regulators, and academia work together with a shared national vision. NCDMB Executive Secretary Felix Ogbe, represented at the ceremony, noted that the centre’s success would ultimately be measured not by its structure, but by the number of skilled graduates it produces and the quality of research it generates.
University of Lagos Vice Chancellor Prof. Folasade Ogunsola said the facility would offer advanced analytical and research services meeting international standards, alongside degree programmes, short courses, professional certifications, and executive training for industry and government partners.
The project, originally conceived in 2010, was executed by indigenous firm 225MM Construct Limited. Students from the University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, the University of Ilorin, and Yaba College of Technology participated as interns during construction, gaining hands-on technical experience. The centre is the latest milestone in SNEPCo and its partners’ broader educational support programme, which includes scholarships, secondary school science laboratory donations, and e-learning centre construction across Delta, Enugu, Edo, and Bayelsa states.
Source: Leadership (leadership.ng)