City-Museums Envisaged

Akbar Nematollahi, director of Petroleum Museums, has said the objective is to establish city-museums. He cited the cities of Abadan and Masjid Soleyman as potential places for city-museums.

"The number of museums we plan to launch has gone beyond three, as instructed by the minister of petroleum in the cities of Tehran, Abadan and Masjid Soleyman. The figure now reaches 15 to 16 museums," he said in his address to a training course for museum curation.

He said that five spots had been located for petroleum museums in Abadan, adding: "In cities like Abadan, wherever you look you see traces of oil industry. The reason is that the city is the city of oil refinery and industry and everything including public services or residential compounds are related to the petroleum industry in one way or other."

"We have to make efforts to identify these spots in order to restore and preserve them. Abadan is a historical and industrial city that should be revived so that we would be able to safeguard and revive different places which have something about the past," said Nematollahi.

He said that an old gas station in Abadan, a historical jetty, power plant number 1 of the refinery, luxury houses and a technical school in Abadan are the five spots which are prioritized to become petroleum museums.

Nematollahi also referred to the launch of five museums in the first phase in the city of Masjid Soleyman and the launch of a museum park in the city, saying: "These five museums are as follows: the main museum, Well No. 1, Tombi power plant, Si Berenj oil streams and distillation plant. Masjid Soleyman Museum Park is also under construction and preparations have already been done."

"Masjid Soleyman has the potential to become a museum city in the next phases because all parts of Masjid Soleyman bear hallmarks of oil and this city is a petrocity. These potentialities have to be identified and be registered as cultural heritage so that to be protected against destruction," he noted.

Nematollahi also said that two museums are to come on-stream up to the end of the current year and one more early next year.

"According to plans, Abadan pumping station will be inaugurated on January 17 and then we will witness the inauguration of the museum of the technical school of this city when Iran would be marking the nationalization of oil industry [on March 20]. Therefore, two petroleum museums would become operational," he said.

Nematollahi also said that an old gas station in the Darvazeh Dowlat district of Tehran would come online early next calendar year.

Touching on the plan for a museum of petroleum science and technology in Tehran, he said: "This museum will be established on the venue of the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) near Azadi Stadium. Its location has already been approved by the Council of Deputies of Petroleum Ministry and finalized by the Minister of Petroleum."

Nematollahi said the Tehran museum would be a different one, adding: "Unlike other museums, this museum does not have a building, facilities, and such things. All such things must be envisaged. For the Tehran museum of petroleum, a special building needs to be designed and we predict that it will take four to five years to launch such a museum."

He also cited other spots envisaged for petroleum museums, including a tin making factory in Kermanshah, oil storage in Mashhad and pumping facility in Darkhoein. He warned that Iran's oil heritage may be in danger in certain places, calling on people and oil industry staff to help the ministry identify important places.