Offshore Training in Aberdeen, Houston
The training of 20 Nova Scotians to work aboard the newly constructed Santa Fe Galaxy II drilling rig is well under way in Aberdeen and Houston.
The men, from Cape Breton to Yarmouth County, are preparing for October when the rig moves on to the Thebaud site on the Scotian Shelf to begin drilling five wells. The Santa Fe Galaxy II left Singapore a few days ago on its 55-day voyage to Nova Scotia.
The Nova Scotians will be among the rig's key personnel -- drillers, derrickmen, crane operators, barge engineer, hydraulics engineers and storemen.
The Canada/Nova Scotia Development Fund has approved financial support for their training program. Houston-based employer Santa Fe Drilling Co. will receive $170,584 under Phase 3 of the fund's Career Development and Technical Skills Training Project.
The funding equals 50 per cent of the costs of accommodation and air fare for the Nova Scotians. Eighteen are training in Aberdeen and on one of Santa Fe's drilling rigs in the North Sea. The other two, both storemen, are being trained in Houston at Santa Fe's supply subsidiary, Sphere.
"This is just one way we can help ensure that Nova Scotia offshore development benefits Nova Scotians -- today and in the future," said Premier Russell MacLellan, Minister responsible for the Petroleum Directorate. "Having Nova Scotians trained at this most fundamental level of the oil and gas sector is an integral part of building a strong offshore industry."
"These training programs will ensure that Nova Scotians and other Canadians form the highly skilled workforce needed for the Sable Offshore Energy Project," said Senator Al Graham, Leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister responsible for Nova Scotia. "Canadians need to have the expertise to develop their own offshore oil and gas resources." Senator Graham made the announcement on behalf of Ralph Goodale, Minister of Natural Resources Canada.
Phase 3 of the Career Development and Technical Skills Training Project has a total budget of $500,000. Santa Fe's application for assistance is the first approved by a six-member federal-provincial advisory board.
The aim of Phase 3 is to help Nova Scotians or Nova Scotia firms, as well as other Canadian firms with significant Canada-Nova Scotia content, to upgrade their professional, technical and managerial capability. This is to be done through on-the-job training related to offshore petroleum development and transportation activities. Successful applicants must have, or are likely to have, contracts related to the Sable Offshore Energy Project.
Phase 1 of the training project has committed $3.3 million to private-sector partners and institutions to provide training and certification programs to prepare Nova Scotians for work in specialized offshore industries. Phase 2 provided $1.1 million for career development awards and on-the-job training for students in related fields.
The Canada/Nova Scotia Development Fund was established in March 1982 to help the province with the costs of infrastructure related to development of the East Coast offshore oil and gas industry.