Shell and PDO Launch New Wells Learning Centre to Boost Omani Skills
Nov 04, 2015
A state-of-the-art training facility has been officially opened at PDO’s Mina Al Fahal headquarters by His Excellency Dr Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy
A state-of-the-art training facility for experienced wells professionals and newcomers has been officially opened at PDO’s Mina Al Fahal headquarters by His Excellency Dr Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy, the Minister of Oil and Gas.
The Wells Learning Centre, a joint venture between PDO and Shell, is a first for the Sultanate and marks a step change in the level of training for well control and certification.
The building consists of seven classrooms, four simulator rooms, two break-out rooms, a recreational area and a model room and at full capacity will be able to train several thousand students a year.
It boasts the latest touch screen technology, digital monitors and gauges to measure reservoir pressure, volumes and flow rates. Instructors can also devise a series of different simulated challenges around well control situations which fully test the aptitude of trainees in a safe environment.
The centre is open to PDO staff, Shell affiliates and other contractors and operators in the country and region, thereby boosting collaboration and co-operation in the oil and gas industry generally. Schools, colleges and universities will also be invited to visit.
PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci said: “We have worked closely with our partners at Shell to produce a world class training facility which will benefit not only Oman but the wider region and sector.
“The opening of the new Wells Learning Centre is a significant step forward in boosting Omani wells expertise and capability and raising interest among students in Well Engineering as a career.
“The centre is a valuable industry and community resource which will enable us to enhance our focus on process safety and offer a new level of excellence in wells training. Courses will combine practice and theory, and technical and ‘human factor’ soft skills such as leadership, teamwork, situational awareness and communication.
Andy Brown, the Director of Shell’s Upstream International business, who also attended the inauguration of the Wells Learning Centre, said: “I am very pleased to have been at the inauguration of the Wells Training Centre.
“Having worked in Oman myself, this is very close to my heart. We are proud at Shell, to share many global best practices with our joint venture partner, PDO, and the Wells Training Centre is a good example of how we work together. I have no doubt that this world class centre will add value to Omani engineers, PDO and its contractors as well as the wider energy sector in Oman.”
Chris Breeze, Shell Oman Country Chairman, said: “I am delighted to see the final result of this collaborative project between Shell and PDO which has been in the making for several years.
“This is an example of Shell’s long-standing partnership with Oman and with PDO in particular. The world class training centre will further enhance well engineering in Oman and produce highly skilled Omani well engineers, who will not only help the sustainable and efficient development of Oman’s oil and gas resources but will also be highly competitive internationally.”
The facility is the first training centre in Oman boasting a DS5000 simulator with a hi-tech Cyber Chair, which teaches trainees how to virtually tackle a range of well scenarios that they could face in the field. It also has a separate Completion and Well Intervention Simulator Room with three other simulators, two of which replicate coiled tubing, slickline, electric line and snubbing operations – another first for the Sultanate.
PDO Learning and Development Manager Hamed Al Hadhrami said: “Since the Gulf of Mexico disaster in 2010, it has become an industry requirement to introduce Well Operation Crew Resource Management training to test the ability of crews and individuals to work together under pressure and this facility will enable us to do this.”
For media enquiries:
Ms. Salima Al-Masroori
Media Relations Manager, Shell Development Oman
Email: S.Al-Masroori@shell.com
Notes to Editors:
ABOUT SHELL IN OMAN
Shell is active in Oman across the oil and gas industry and is involved in joint venture and independent activities ranging from research and development, exploration and production to trading and retail. Shell also implements extensive social investment programmes that contribute to the sustainable development of the country.
Shell Development Oman LLC provides a central point for co-ordination of all Shell activities and interests in the Sultanate of Oman.
A dedicated Shell Representative office was established in 2002, creating for the first time in Oman a Shell identity independent from the different joint venture companies in which Shell has been proud to participate over many years.
Led by the Shell County Chairman for Oman, the Representative Office undertook the dual role of representing Shell and acted as a long-standing corporate citizen of the Sultanate by providing a conduit for a broad range of social investment schemes, including the successful Intilaaqah programme.
The broad range of activities undertaken by the office from social investment through to learning and technology sharing continually grew and to enable Shell to further expand its efforts to support the development objectives of the Sultanate, the Representative Office was transitioned to a limited liability company on 1 March 2008. This change continues to show our long-term commitment to the sustainable development of Oman.
Shell Development Oman LLC continues the dual role of representing Shell and contributing to the sustainable development of Oman (as the previous Representative Office did).
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