HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwire - Aug 15, 2012) -  Petrofac, the international oil & gas facilities services provider, through its Training Services business (PTS), has secured a contract with the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) to enhance IADC's existing system of competence for the drilling community.

In addition to generic rig positions, the new project will identify Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) for highly specialised occupations, such as subsea engineers, as well as create formal evaluation process guidelines based on the KSA position requirements. IADC developed the original KSAs and released them initially in 2000. Those first KSAs represented the basic skills and knowledge necessary for competence for 12 rig positions. In addition to job-specific KSAs, the IADC Training Committee also developed a general KSA focused on health, safety and environmental issues.

The KSAs will help to clarify job roles and responsibilities and identify development opportunities to close any KSA gaps that may arise from the evaluation process. The resulting increase in competence levels should minimise the risks from human error, helping to achieve safer, more efficient and environmentally sound drilling operations globally.

The scope of work will be completed in a phased approach. It will begin with the identification of KSAs and the evaluation guidelines for safety-critical positions with well control responsibilities. The programme will then address the remaining non-safety-critical positions.

Petrofac Training Services will draw upon 30 years of competence assurance experience to undertake an exercise to align its own industry and IADC member methodologies and good practices to create an international drilling competency framework.

"This project will enable us to strengthen our on-going relationship with the IADC and its members by leveraging our capability and industry knowledge in developing, delivering and implementing competence programmes for the oil & gas industry," said Tony Littler, Regional Director, PTS Americas. "Working in step with the IADC, we can help deliver a global competence system for the international drilling community."

Programmes such as this have become increasingly important as a result of new US government regulations that require companies to define and evaluate the competence of their workforce. Further, such programmes will help address workforce capability challenges by providing a means to evaluate and develop new entrants into the drilling industry. 

"The revamped KSAs will provide the industry with a benchmark for globally consistent drilling position requirements, as well as recommend means for effectively evaluating personnel," said Stephen Colville, IADC president and CEO. "It will also help personnel identify areas where further training and development are needed and point them to resources to help close those gaps."

Notes to Editors

Petrofac Training Services

For more than 30 years, Petrofac Training Services (PTS) and its heritage companies have provided the energy industry with learning and competence assurance solutions to increase workforce capability and minimise risk. Because Petrofac engineers, builds and operates oil and gas infrastructure, it faces the same industry challenges as its customers. This first-hand operational knowledge makes PTS uniquely positioned to address the critical challenges of workforce capability, safety and efficiency.

PTS delivers more than 300 competence-based learning courses in process operations and maintenance, safety, emergency response and crisis management disciplines; designs and implements competence assurance and management systems to develop workforce capability and improve operations safety and efficiency; designs and operates 15 of our own and our customers' training facilities worldwide; designs and fabricates specialised process skids to deliver hands-on technical training; has assembled a team of more than 450 highly experienced trainers and assessors who train approximately 56,000 delegates annually. For additional information, please refer to the PTS website at [ www.petrofactraining.com ].

Notes to Editors

Petrofac

Petrofac is a leading international service provider to the oil & gas production and processing industry, with a diverse customer portfolio including many of the world's leading integrated, independent and national oil & gas companies. Petrofac is quoted on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: PFC) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. 

The group delivers services through two divisions: Engineering, Construction, Operations & Maintenance (ECOM - comprising Onshore Engineering & Construction, Offshore Projects & Operations, Offshore Capital Projects and Engineering & Consulting Services) and Integrated Energy Services (IES). Through these divisions Petrofac designs and builds oil & gas facilities; operates, maintains and manages facilities and trains personnel; enhances production; and, where it can leverage its service capability, develops and co-invests in upstream and infrastructure projects. Petrofac's range of services meets its customers' needs across the full life cycle of oil & gas assets.

With around 17,200 employees, Petrofac operates out of seven strategically located operational centres, in Aberdeen, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Woking, Chennai, Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur and a further 24 offices worldwide. The predominant focus of Petrofac's business is on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), the Middle East and Africa, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Asia Pacific region.

For additional information, please refer to the Petrofac website at [ www.petrofac.com ].

IADC

Founded in 1940, IADC's mission is to improve industry health, safety and environmental practices; advance drilling and completion technology; and champion responsible standards, practices, legislation and regulations that provide for safe, efficient and environmentally sound drilling operations worldwide. The Association is a leader in developing standards for industry training. IADC is headquartered in Houston and has offices in Washington D.C., the Netherlands, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as chapters in the UK, Venezuela, Brazil, Australasia, South Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and across the United States. For more information, visit the IADC website at [ www.iadc.org ].