Petrofac achieves UK first with onshore oil spill training

Petrofac Training Services (PTS) is responding to the industry’s onshore environmental training needs by developing two new courses to tackle onshore oil spills – one of which has achieved a UK first.

The Pipeline Emergency Response Officer (PERO) course trains individuals how to respond in the event of an onshore pipeline incident. The course was originally developed for a customer, who approached Petrofac with a requirement for a bespoke training course specific to its onshore pipeline and emergency response procedures.

Piloted at Petrofac’s state-of-the-art fire and emergency response training facility in Montrose, Scotland, it involves classroom and emergency response training to develop the PERO’s understanding of the command and control process and of how to liaise effectively with Tier 1 agencies. The emergency response training was simulated in a command trailer used in real incidents, and featured live demonstrations of pool and jet fires to enhance the simulation.

Gordon Caird, Europe Director, Petrofac Training Services said: “One of the things we’re very proud of at PTS is the breadth and depth of our training expertise, and the development of this course has been a great example of how we can deploy that expertise responsively to support our customers. We’re now looking to roll this course out to the wider industry.”

Petrofac has also become the first company in the UK to achieve course accreditation from the International Spill Accreditation Association (ISAA) – a world authority, which works to raise response standards of inland and offshore spills - for its Inland Oil Spill Response training course.

The course provides spill responders and environmental officers with essential training to effectively tackle onshore spills and minimise the potential for environmental incidents.

Andy Lang, Environmental Response Manager, Petrofac Training Services, has worked in the industry for more than 18 years, dealing first-hand with inland oil spills.

Andy said: “Having the appropriate storage and waste management procedures in place can dramatically decrease the chances of an onshore spill occurring; however, in the event of an incident, spill responders are a company’s most valuable asset in ensuring protection of their site and the surrounding environment.

“In most cases it’s not the quantity of the spill that’s the issue – one litre of oil can spread to the length of a football pitch; therefore, it’s important to make sure personnel have the right skills and training to think about the impact to the wider area, and the expertise to eliminate the spill before contamination.”