It’s up, up and away for a group of 73 young Papua New Guineans who left PNG Monday for the decidedly cooler climes of Canada for one year of further studies.
The students will spend one year in Canada, undertaking Advanced Skills training as part of the PNG LNG Project’s Production Operations and Maintenance training program.
In Port Moresby, the trainees had completed a 12-month Foundation Skills Program which included mathematics, computing, physics and chemistry, plus a six-month Basic Skills Training Program designed to introduce the fundamentals of the oil and gas industry.
Ultimately, the Operations and Maintenance trainees will become qualified technicians capable of operating and maintaining the PNG LNG Project’s Hides Gas Conditioning Plant (Southern Highlands) and LNG Plant (Central Province) along with the associated pipelines and wells.
Tom Hooper, Esso Highlands Limited’s Operations Manager wished the students well in this new chapter of their studies. “ We have been impressed with the academic results and personal qualities of the entire group and their demonstrated ability to work together as a team irrespective of which clans or villages they come from. This is a challenging program, but they have put 100 per cent of their efforts into it ,” he said.
“ This begins the next phase of their training where they begin to learn a vocation, a craft specifically aligned to the requirements of operating and maintaining our PNG LNG facilities. The training facilities in Canada have been used in the past by ExxonMobil for new start operations in Russia, Angola and Italy .
“ This is the largest group of Papua New Guineans to head overseas for training, and we know that they will make the country proud .”
A second intake of Operations and Maintenance trainees was recently selected, and they will begin their training this month.
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LNG World News Staff, January 12, 2012; Image: Santos