OREANDA-NEWS. December 17, 2013. In the city of Karaganda the first group of students has successfully completed an ‘International Welding Engineer’ course, which has been arranged thanks to support of Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V., North Caspian Operating Company and Tengizchevroil.

This training programme is carried out by the Kazakhstan Welding Institute on the basis of Karaganda State Technical University (KSTU). At the end of November, the first graduates who successfully passed the exams have received the ‘International Welding Engineer’ Diplomas that are recognized in 56 countries of the world.

The officials from the French Embassy, RoK Ministries of Education and Science, Oil and Gas, Industry and New technology as well as representatives from international oil and gas companies including KPO, Total, TCO and NCOC and other Kazakhstan enterprises took part in the graduation ceremony.

Issak Sekeyev, KPO Corporate Affairs Manager, said: ‘KPO has been inspired to support the implementation of this important project since it provides a unique opportunity for Kazakhstani welding engineers to enhance significantly their professional skills, which will surely be demanded by industrial enterprises in Kazakhstan and abroad’.

The project was carried out in accordance with the request of the RoK President Nursultan Nazarbayev as part of the initiative of French oil and gas company Total, under the support of the RoK Ministry of Oil & Gas, French Welding Institute (Institut de Soudure) and independent Kazakhstan Welding Association ‘KazWeld’.

The ‘International Welding Engineer’ course consists of 4 Modules: ‘Welding Processes and Equipment’, ‘Structure and Properties of Metals’, ‘Structural System and Design’, ‘Quality Assurance in Welded Fabrication, Non-Destructive Testing and HSE’.