Procedural Training for Oil Production

Total Reality Is Here. Miles away from oil, but close to reality, the Primary Process Separator is the latest addition to Maersk Training’s fleet of simulators.

Anyone looking in through the window of what used to be a garage and storeroom could be forgiven in thinking that Maersk Training in Svendborg had invested in a new gas or oil-fired central heating system. What they are looking at does have an oil and gas connection, but it’s for warming brain cells, not water.

Partially built from components scrapped from platforms on the North Sea, the Primary Process Separator is a simulator as far removed from the electronic technology of the nearby MOSAIC complex as Donald Trump is from the dole queue. It’s all metal tanks, metres of piping and numerous pressure valves and replicates 90% of what is to be found on the platforms.

Hands-On Experience
"The ideal situation would be to train it on board, on the platforms, explains instructor Per Larsen, but because of the risks and costs involved it is not possible. So we wanted to create something that was as close as possible to reality so they can get the sense of hands on experience."

The electricians, blacksmiths, anyone who gets their hands dirty in the maintenance programme will now have their awareness raised through thorough risk assessment and the planning process to carry out the identified task. As with a growing number of courses, there is also a human factors element with a specialist People Skills instructor monitoring how the participants work with each other.

The venture is a cooperation between Maersk Training and Maersk Oil, who saw the need for such training and for the right equipment to do it on. The simulator is an open facility for all those in the offshore industry.