One of the most modern and up-to-date oil and gas training facilities officially opened its doors this week in Aberdeen. The state of the art facility owned by Maersk Training houses one of the most sophisticated oil and gas training centres in the world. Oil and Gas People was invited to attend the opening and we got to experience first-hand what was on offer.

The centre, located within the PrimeFour development at Kingswells, close to Aberdeen city centre and Dyce Airport, complements Maersk Training’s existing survival centre in Portlethen and boat training facility in Stonehaven.

The new training facility boasts an array of state of the art simulators supplied by world leader ‘Drilling Systems’, covering every aspect of the Drilling and Crane environment, from Drilling and Well Control, Completions and Well Intervention to Offshore and Port Crane Training – the facility also has numerous classrooms and a very realistic Cyber Drilling simulator.

The Lord Provost, Cllr George Adams as well as local MP for the area Frank Doran were in attendance to officially open the centre. Managing Director of Maersk Training in Aberdeen, John Abate, also gave an insight into the Maersk training vision.

Local MP for the area, Frank Doran, emphasised the continued need for improved training, focused on competency, in order to continue to foster a high safety culture within the industry. The Lord Provost, Cllr George Adams, in opening the Kingswells facility, thanked Maersk Training for their continued investment into the city and local business community.

John Abate, Managing Director of Maersk Training in Aberdeen, commented - ‘Safety and productivity go together and are not mutually exclusive. Those companies that are prepared to invest more into their workforce such that they are more competent and thus more productive, will see through the difficult times,’ he said.

Survival of the fittest is what training is very much part of and at Maersk North Sea’s newest oil and gas industry training facility, this was driven home as the core message in several of the speeches. Aberdeen’s Lord Provost, the area’s MP and the Managing Director of the latest Maersk Training centre all underlined that when the oil majors are making decisions about suppliers, those with the best crews will win through.

The event, included a tour of the facilities and was attended by a number of oil and gas majors in addition to dignitaries and strategic partners to Maersk Training in Aberdeen.