Artefacts and memorabilia being collected for the UAE’s first Oil and Gas museum at ADIPEC

The museum will be unveiled during the 15th edition of the Middle East’s largest oil and gas exhibition to be held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from November 11-14

The Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) will this year include a unique feature: the first UAE oil and gas museum at ADIPEC. The ADIPEC museum, which will remain open throughout the exhibition, is set to provide visitors with an interactive journey exploring the discovery, extraction and production of oil in the UAE.

Comprising exhibits loaned by local and multinational energy companies, plus personal contributions, the museum will be a chronological study of the UAE’s oil and gas industry, and will include an interactive timeline from 1928 to the 2000s.

The ADIPEC Oil and Gas Museum will comprise a wide variety of exhibits, many of them on public display for the first time, including archive photography, film, plans, engineering components and machinery, as well as the testimonies of former and present-day oil executives.

In addition, the museum will feature a tribute to the vision of the UAE’s founder, His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

A number of exhibits have already been received with the support of contributors and sponsors (which include Partex Oil & Gas, ExxonMobil, TOTAL and Shell). To date, the organisers have received interesting exhibits which include a copy of the original Abu Dhbai concession agreement dating back to 1939 as well as a geological map of the hinterland of Abu Dhabi drawn in 1935.

Hundreds of images have also been received for inclusion in the museum. Amongst these are an image of the late ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan, pictured with Dr. Macpherson of BP and N. Barnonty of Khanaqin Oil Company, dating back to 1953, and a photo of a water distillation plant for fresh drinking water dated 1963. Undoubtedly the greatest single boon that oil wealth brought to Abu Dhabi is fresh drinking water, an unheard of luxury for the area prior to the discovery of oil.

Sure to be a key attraction at the museum is the equipment section, which will comprise some of the original tools and paraphernalia used to aid the extraction of oil, such as hydraulic power tongs, monitoring systems used for ADCO and ADMA-OPCO fields, and crude oil loading pumps dating back to 1966.

With the advent of oil came wealth never witnessed in the region before. Three cars which were used during the oil boom in the UAE, and have been in the Emirates for more than 60 years, will also be on display at the ADIPEC museum. These include a Chevrolet 3100 pick-up, a Land Rover and a Dodge Power Wagon.

The ADIPEC Museum will also feature a running documentary about the history of oil and gas in the UAE. In the video, industry professionals who have served in the sector for many years will recall their experiences. Contributors to the documentary to date include David Heard, H.E. Mohammed A.J. Al Fahim, Peter Hellyer, H.E. Ahmad Rahma Al Masaood, Ahmed Tamim, Murshed Al Romaithi, Saqar Muharibi and Martin Calouste Gulbenkian.

Kimon Alexandrou, Commercial Director at dmg::energy, said: “We’re highly appreciative of the generous contributions we’ve received to date from our sponsors and supporters and are confident that the ADIPEC Museum will be a key attraction during the exhibition. Although we’ve received hundreds of exhibits and memorabilia to date, we’re still looking for contributors who can help us recover tools, images and equipment from the 1940s, 1980s and the 2000s.

“As ADIPEC is the region’s largest oil and gas event, we wanted to give back to the industry by providing them with a fascinating and necessary historical timeline of the oil and gas sector in the UAE,” Alexandrou concluded.

Held under the patronage of the President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the 15th edition of ADIPEC takes place from November 11-14 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

Entry to the ADIPEC Oil and Gas Museum, within the new Outdoor area, will be free to all trade and public visitors registering to attend ADIPEC 2012.