OREANDA-NEWS. May 04, 2011. Vagit Alekperov, President of JSC  LUKOIL, and Alexander Zhilkin, Governor of the Astrakhan Region, participated in a festive ceremony in Ilyinka settlement in the Astrakhan Region today. The ceremony was dedicated to the opening of the first Russian Corporate Training Center for training the personnel to work at offshore oil and gas facilities.

The Center includes an educational and administrative building, a testing ground fitted with simulators, production and special facilities, a swimming pool, a hotel, and facilities designed for social, cultural and utility purposes. The Training Center is located in the immediate vicinity of the transport and industrial complex intended for material and technical supplies servicing of  offshore oil and gas facilities located in the North Caspian Sea.

The training program comprises practical classes teaching exercises with different training devices, which simulate real conditions at offshore oil and gas facilities in usual, extraordinary and emergency situations. The total number of trainees per year will be around 2,500 people.

After the relevant licensing and accrediting, the Corporate Training Center will issue international certificates by the American Petroleum Institute, the International Well Control Forum and the International Association of Drilling Contractors.

“The need to establish a specialized corporate training center stems from development prospects of the offshore fields located in the North Caspian Sea and an increased number of offshore international projects with the Company’s participation”, Vagit Alekperov said.