According to the initiative of the Secretary-General of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), the training institutes and centers in most Arab oil-producing countries meet annually in one of the Arab countries to negotiate and discuss their working mechanisms and the adopted training and development methods.
Through my attendance of these meetings, I perceived the opportunities offered to the audience to exchange views and examine the potentials in each country. Despite the agreement of objectives among the training institutes and centers, the method of information transferring may vary from one country to another. Some countries adopt the manual training inside workshops (mills) and laboratories, while others depend on training in the direct workplaces (given their nearness to the institute or center). A third group relies on computerized training, where trainees can watch the machine or instrument used by the trainee as a kind of a documentary film, and he could see the parts and know how to dismantle and collect them.

Some of the training practicabilities are allocated for the new trainees, others for developing the old employees, and some for training the trainers (TOT).

The Oil Training Institute of Baghdad performs:

1 – Training the graduates of high or preparatory schools (a number which suits the oil companies’ needs regarding intermediate cadres) on various oil specialties which include (oil wells drilling / drilling mechanics / production / gas refinement / operation and control), as well as the assisting and supporting specialties such as the mechanical and electrical specialties related to equipment and oil sites.

Training on these specialties is carried out for a two-year period in addition to a third year distributed on field training in worksites (after the first training year) and praxis (after the second year).

2 – Perfecting the skills of the staff that has previously practiced the profession. This is carried out through developmental courses with specific times, curricula and subjects which are determined in coordination between the Institute and the relevant oil companies and according to the latest devices together with the international developed simulating ones such as the oil wells drilling simulator (imitator) Dr-500.

Our ambition is to consider its position as the Iraqi drilling center and authorize our trainers to grant the certificate of the Global Forum for Drilling (IWCF) which enables its recipients to work efficiently with foreign companies.

3 – Working with the electronic education and learning from a distance technology for students and staff trainees through modern devices and topics agreed upon with the training representatives in most oil sites, and according to steady scientific vocabulary broadcasted from specialized companies in that field. Then a careful methodology will be broadcasted to students or trainees according to their levels and the grade of topics they need (technical, administrative, legal, financial and others).

Our conviction is that the specialized training institutes and centers are the strong shield of the oil sector in any country. These institutions are playing an important role in graduating cadres enjoying knowledge and experience together, and this helps in the advancement of the oil sector and consequently the national economy.

Our ambition is to turn the Oil Training Institute in Baghdad – given its deep rooted history and advanced capabilities – into an Arab and regional minaret in the areas of training and development, and in the way which matches the international training and development operations.
Godspeed!

Petroleum expert: Ehsan Reda Al Sharif

The Oil Training Institute Manager – Baghdad

boti@boti.oil.gov.iq