- Title: IRAQ: Basra's new Lukoil training centre to boost local skilled labour force
- Date: 31st December 2012
- Summary: BASRA, IRAQ (RECENT) (REUTERS) WIDE OF NORTH RUMMAILA OILFIELD IN BASRA MORE OF OIL FLAMES AT NORTH RUMMAILA OILFIELD IN BASRA EXTERIOR OF LUKOIL HEADQUARTERS IN BASRA VARIOUS OF FLAGS AND COMPANY BANNERS EXTERIOR OF LUKOIL TRAINING CENTRE / CLASSROOMS MORE OF TRAINING CENTRE CLASSROOMS LUKOIL EMPLOYEES AND TRAINERS AT CENTRE HEAD OF LUKOIL TRAINING CENTRE, VLADIMIR SPIRDINOV, SPEAKING TO TRAINER SIGN FOR LUKOIL (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF LUKOIL TRAINING CENTRE, VLADIMIR SPIRDINOV, SAYING: "We need to have many local staff to develop this giant oil field, it's why we have developed this training program and because most of the people working for this company will be local people. It's why we started so early as the programme for development of local work force and this program has started in December last year, actually we just finished first year of training and we started this training program in Basra University with six months of English language and after that we moved, in July of this year, we moved to this facility." EXTERIOR OF TRAINING CENTRE CLASSROOMS (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF LUKOIL TRAINING CENTRE, VLADIMIR SPIRDINOV, SAYING: "This training facility consists of nine classrooms and three language laboratories and three computers laboratories and we have big canteen, you saw the canteen. We have a big workshop of behind me . We have administrative offices, we have everything required to train the people. At the present time we have 184 people under the training program and God Willing, we will have 164 more in January." IRAQI WORKERS ATTENDING TRAINING CLASS MORE OF IRAQI TRAINEES AT COMPUTER CLASS VARIOUS OF TRAINEES ATTENDING CLASS FEMALE WORKERS BEHIND COMPUTER AT TRAINING CENTRE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN SOUTH OIL COMPANY, ATHEER AL-EBADI, SAYING: "The lack of skilled labour in a certain specialised field is a global problem that faces many countries, including Iraq. Foreign oil companies were able to employ a large number of unemployed people in Iraq and provided them with training courses to develop their skills, which will lead to an expansion in the skilled labour force in Iraq." VARIOUS OF TRAINER TEACHING CLASS TRAINEES ATTENDING CLASS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN SOUTH OIL COMPANY, ATHEER AL-EBADI, SAYING: "To bring workers from outside requires to certain facilities and salaries, which must be paid, in addition to camps and visas, which are all difficult procedures, so all these reasons prompt foreign companies to establish such training centres to develop Iraqi labour to be employed locally. Such a step will attract a large number of workers from Basra and Iraq as the opportunities for work with such companies is unlimited." VARIOUS OF WORKERS ATTENDING TRAINING CLASS CLOSE OF TEXTBOOK TEACHER IN CLASS
- Embargoed: 15th January 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Business,Education,Economy,Employment,Education
- Reuters ID: LVA4DQ9GHDVWDU5XJ27RUGI7F5VB
- Story Text: Russian oil firm Lukoil has opened its first training centre in the southern city of Basra to develop skilled staff to work in its oilfield.
The firm, Russia's second-largest crude producer, won a contract to develop the West Qurna-2 oilfield.
"We need to have many local staff to develop this giant oil field, it's why we have developed this training program and because most of the people working for this company will be local people. It's why we started so early as the programme for development of local work force and this program has started in December last year, actually we just finished first year of training and we started this training program in Basra University with six months of English language and after that we moved, in July of this year, we moved to this facility," said Vladimir Spirdinov, the head of Lukoil's training centre.
In 2009, a consortium comprising Lukoil and Norway's Statoil won a tender to develop West Qurna-2, one of the world's largest oilfields with recoverable reserves estimated at 12.9 billion barrels of oil. Lukoil plans to launch production at the field in early 2014.
More than 150 staff members, including five women, joined the first stage of a training course in the centre located in al-Rumaila filed in northern Basra.
"This training facility consists of nine classrooms and three language laboratories and three computers laboratories and we have big canteen, you saw the canteen. We have a big workshop of behind me. We have administrative offices, we have everything required to train the people. At the present time we have 184 people under the training program and God Willing, we will have 164 more in January," Spirdinov added.
Over the past four years, Iraq has signed a series of deals with international oil firms to develop its vast oil reserves in a bid to boost output potential to 12 million bpd from around 2.7 million bpd.
Atheer al-Ebadi, the head of public relations at Iraq's South Oil Company, said such training centres will contribute greatly in developing the country's skilled labour force.
"The lack of skilled labour in a certain specialised field is a global problem that faces many countries, including Iraq. Foreign oil companies were able to employ a large number of unemployed people in Iraq and provided them with training courses to develop their skills, which will lead to an expansion in the skilled labour force in Iraq," said Ebadi.
The training itself takes two years, and once complete, workers will be assigned to different facilities in West Qurna-2 field.
"To bring workers from outside requires to certain facilities and salaries, which must be paid, in addition to camps and visas, which are all difficult procedures, so all these reasons prompt foreign companies to establish such training centres to develop Iraqi labour to be employed locally. Such a step will attract a large number of workers from Basra and Iraq as the opportunities for work with such companies is unlimited," Ebadi added.
Basra is Iraq's main port and two-thirds of the country's oil output comes from the southern fields. Barrels of oil shipped through Basra provide the bulk of the central government's revenue. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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