The newly-completed Upstream Professional Development Center (UPDC), Saudi Aramco’s state-of-the-art facility in Dhahran is set to open its doors to house an updated integrated training programme for Upstream Operations employees.
All upstream training is being redesigned to combine technical depth and breadth with behavioral skills necessary for upstream professionals to excel in a dynamically changing work environment.
The Challenge and the ‘Big Crew Change’
“UPDC is more than a facility … more than a training programme,” said Amin Nasser, Upstream senior vice president. “It is Saudi Aramco’s proactive decision to stay ahead of the times. It represents our commitment to prepare our workforce for the unique challenges that lie ahead.”
Global energy demands are expected to rise substantially in the next 30 years.
According to Abdullatif Al-Ghanim, director of Upstream Continuing Excellence: “UPDC is designed to address unprecedented professional development needs. We have aggressive targets of higher hydrocarbon discovery and recovery factors that require more complex activities and technologies to achieve. Exploration efforts are reaching into new environments, such as the Red Sea and deep gas exploration in the Arabian Gulf.
“The technologies used during routine operations will continue to evolve with new tools and advancements appearing at a rapid pace. With the advent of enormous amounts of real-time data that allow critical operational decisions to be made on the fly, engineers and geoscientists are taking multidisciplinary collaboration and joint decision processes to a new level.”
Perhaps the most immediate challenge that UPDC faces is the “Big Crew Change.” Throughout the oil and gas industry, the bulk of experienced professionals are retiring from the upstream workforce and are often being replaced with inexperienced new graduates.
UPDC is working to bridge the growing upstream experience gap with aggressive training and mentoring programmes. Communication and bonding networks now link disciplines to help young professionals tap the wide array of knowledge among senior professionals before they retire.
The UPDC Programme
The UPDC training programme has been developed for eight upstream job families: Geology, Geophysics, Petrophysics, Reservoir Engineering, Production Engineering, Facilities Engineering, Drilling and Workover, and Upstream Computing.
Instructional design experts work closely with industry technical experts to design and update training to enhance learning and retention. The training is hands-on with reduced lecturing.
Experiential learning is targeted by numerous practical applications that translate directly to the workplace. Customised technology applications also are integrated into some courses, allowing participants to learn important concepts and quickly perform analyses.
To ensure job relevance, experienced Saudi Aramco subject matter experts teach many of the courses.
Saudi Aramco data, work flows and tools are also incorporated into the training. To help keep the courses fresh, dynamic and flexible, feedback is welcome.
The design integrates multiple resources: senior experience, youthful innovation, history, lessons learned, new technologies, new ideas, continuous information flow and training expertise.
A formal competency assurance process is built into all UPDC courses. Beyond confirming whether trainees are achieving the required competencies, this process assesses the quality of the courses and identifies areas for improvement. A fast track to achieving competency targets is also available. The framework is in place to significantly reduce both knowledge and experience gaps in an efficient manner.
While the new facility was under construction, the UPDC training programme was launched. The Independent Contributor curricula for all eight job families were defined. The courses were developed and have been offered throughout 2010 in temporary training facilities.
The UPDC Facility
To support the training of upstream professionals, the new centre has 18 high-tech classrooms with wall-to-wall viewing screens, LCD touch screens with 3D capability, and breakout areas. The centre provides a drilling simulator where participants perform operations on a simulated rig.
There is also a Cave Automated Virtual Environment where participants are immersed into a variety of Saudi Aramco virtual environments to perform exercises that include inspecting rock and fluid properties “downhole” and viewing the sedimentology and stratigraphy of rock outcrops.
The centre houses a Hyper-Dimensional Simulator where participants interact with a reservoir simulator using hand gestures, voice commands and feedback. Local and remote real-time collaborative training is provided for Upstream engineers and geoscientists.
Bridge to the Future
Salam Salamy, administrator of UPDC, said he is proud of what the UPDC team has accomplished, adding: “As we look to the complex challenges of the future, it is clear we are moving in the right direction. The UPDC will be the bridge that closes knowledge and experience gaps … enabling Upstream to reach our goal of becoming the best in the industry at developing competent and innovative technical professionals.
“We believe these well-developed professionals will make a difference for the better in Saudi Aramco Upstream. Hopefully, their tide of positive influence will spill over into the global hydrocarbon industry, ultimately giving every society the comforting assurance that we will provide energy for future generations.”
