More than twenty-two employees from several government agencies and the disciplined services are involved in a five-day, Floating Production and Storage Offloading Vessel (FPSO) training exercise.
Participants were drawn from the Ministry of Social Protection, Occupational Safety and Health Department, the National Advisory Council, Guyana Police Force, Guyana Fire Service, and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
The ministry’s Occupational Safety and Health Consultant, Gwen King, told DPI that the exercise, which began Monday, will equip the professionals with the knowledge and skills to conduct safety and health inspections on the FPSO vessels in Guyana’s waters.
“The training was made possible through the sponsorship of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and through partnership with the Department of Energy. Certificates upon completion of the training will be produced by the Oil and Gas Safety Council,” King explained.
She added that the participants who were drawn from each Administrative region, would disseminate what they have learnt to other members within the Occupational Safety and Health Sector across the country.
Chairperson of the National Advisory Council and Occupational Safety, Earl Morris noted that conducting proper inspections on FPSO vessels is new to Guyana, and it was crucial to understand the essential aspects of the vessel.
“When we are called upon to go on the FPSO vessel, we will be able to ask the right questions, look at the right place and identify the factors that can bring harm to workers,” Morris noted.
The training exercise is being facilitated by Garth Vincent of the Trinidad-based Business Crisis Consultants who related that so far they have covered “the terminologies, the layout of the vessel, identifying the key areas and tying it back to areas that need to inspect, assess and audit.
He added that they will also be looking at the relevant local legislation.
Participant Ervy London from the GGMC agreed that the training exercise was timely. “It will benefit me tremendously since the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission has a Petroleum Unit, and most of the staff of the Petroleum unit conduct frequent inspections on FPSO vessels,” London related.
The FPSO training ends on Friday and plans are also in the making for a Steam Boiler Training exercise to begin in February for persons in the engineering sector. That will also be facilitated by the ministry’s Occupational Safety and Health Department.
The FPSO Liza Destiny began producing oil last month and a second vessel, the Liza Unity, is currently under construction.
