PETROFAC Training Services (PTS) has become the first provider in the world to be approved for the new Opito-recognised major emergency management initial response course.
The programme is designed to provide the first stages of knowledge and experience in MEM and replicates the same sights, sounds and stresses experienced during an emergency.
Delegates have the ability to link the control room in the simulators to the fire ground, or emergency response services centre (ERSC), creating realistic potential scenarios.
Some 20 years following Lord Cullen’s Piper Alpha Inquiry recommendations, the UK’s Offshore Industry Training Organisation (Opito) issued a new international standard in February this year with the intent of raising emergency response management.
First to respond to this challenge, PTS has developed a course specifically geared to the needs of emergency response managers, with the emphasis on their core responsibilities – pre-planning, stress management and practical steps such as communication and delegation.
The Petrofac programme was forwarded for validation in August, with approval granted just a few weeks ago.
But why 20 years after the Cullen report?
According to Jim Cameron, standards and approvals director at Opito, this is about the upstream oil and gas sector recognising that there needs to be consistent training in this crucial area.
“This is not about setting baseline standards, it’s about changing the game,” said Cameron.
“Opito, on behalf of the industry, has put this new standard together to drive improvements to emergency response management, not just for OIMs (offshore installation managers), but anyone likely to be put in control of an emergency before any of the authorised services can attend.”
The standard was put together with inputs from an international industry work group with Petrofac and Oil & Gas UK making major contributions.
Historically, all training for emergency management has been for offshore; however this new standard covers onshore as more than half the world’s oil and gas industry is located onshore.
Trevor Riley, manager, emergency response and crisis management at Petrofac Training Services, said the company had been delivering major emergency management training for a number of years.
He said there had been growing interest from companies around the globe, including international oil companies, national oil companies and major players in the supply chain. The new standard is expected to help make the PTS offering even more appropriate and attractive.
Riley said an important issue that has come up in the past couple of years is that a number of companies have been questioned by their insurers as to what they are doing in terms of preparedness for dealing with a major emergency.
He added that the insurers of some Petrofac clients had put those companies under pressure to raise their standards in this quarter.
“Their lack of preparation has been highlighted by the insurers and has been given to them as an area where they really need to improve in order to prevent premiums from rising,” said Riley.
Although the standard is international, Petrofac will initially concentrate on the North Sea marketplace. However, Riley also said plans were being laid for an international rollout over the next five years or so as part of a wider offering of courses, most likely starting in Asia-Pacific.
The 2011 North Sea programme is mapped out, with 43 courses offered initially. A significant number of courses have already been run. There are generally six delegates on each course and about 30-40% of delegates come from overseas, including from as far afield as Sakhalin in the Russian Far East.
Recommended for you
