World-Class Malampaya HSSE Training Centre Opens

The Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project has formally opened the Malampaya HSSE Training Centre at the SITE Skills Training Centre in Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga.

The world-class Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) training facility aims to build the competencies of local workers to meet the high HSSE standards of construction and oil and gas industries.

The goal of the centre is to significantly raise the HSSE competencies of workers employed by the fabrication yard and offshore execution work of the project’s next phase of development, Malampaya Phase 3 (MP3).

MP3 involves the design, fabrication and installation of a Depletion Compression Platform (DCP) to sustain gas production of the Malampaya gas field. By significantly raising HSSE standards, the centre aims to realize the objective of achieving ‘Goal Zero’, or no harm to people and the environment, in the Fabrication Yard and offshore executions of MP3.

According to Malampaya HSSE Lead Neil Burton, ‚Apart from the immediate traini ng needs of the project, our long – term vision is t o raise the benchmark of  H S S E in the  local work force and help enhance employment opportunities both here and abroad.

The Malampaya Training Centre brings us a step closer towards our sustainable development goals and leave behind a lasting legacy that will continue to empower people.

Malampaya  is committed to sustainable social and environmental development in areas where the Malampaya Project operates, working with groups and communities in various projects geared towards skills development and education, the betterment of the environment, among others.

Malampaya’s social arm, the Malampaya Foundation, Inc. (MFI), provides skills training to unemployed individuals and out of school youths from Palawan and Subic through its Bridging Employment through Skills Training (BEST) Programme. The BEST Palawan scholars were previously trained at the centre and are now employed at the Keppel Subic Shipyard as part of the Malampaya Phase 3 Project, while the BEST Subic scholars are currently undergoing their 3-day training at the centre. The centre began training workers in September 2012 and now has close to 3,000 completing the mandatory HSSE Training.

In an interview, BEST scholar Diesebel Rubi said, ‚The skill of welding has become a treasure that no one can take away from me. It’s my way to a better li fe.   She is currently employed with Keppel Subic Shipyard, Inc., Malampaya’s contractor in building the Depletion Compression Platform.

The Malampaya HSSE Training Centre is located within the SITE Skills Training Center, which is owned by Australian firm Site Group International Limited. The 300,000 square-meter campus is one of Asia’s premiere training facilities, and is a fully contained campus that delivers a wide range of standards-based vocational trade training, HSSE and specialist skills training, among others.   Commenting Site CEO Vern Wills said , ‚We are delighted to be an important part of the Malampaya project with the delivery in training of critical safety skills. Part of our vision as a regional center of excellence is to extend our capabilities to inclu de specialist technical oil and gas training with simulated platforms utilizing industrial components to ensure th at the highest training standards are achieved.

A joint undertaking between the Philippine national government and the private sector, the technologically innovative Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power project is spearheaded by the Philippine Department of Energy, and developed and operated by Shell Philippines Exploration, B.V. (SPEX) on behalf of joint venture partners Chevron Malampaya LLC and the Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corporation under Service Contract No. 38 (SC 38).    Production of natural gas to fuel three gas-fired power stations with a combined capacity of 2,700 megawatts commenced in October 2001, providing countless benefits to the country, including meeting up to 45% of Luzon’s power generation requirements, reduced oil imports, tapping indigenous natural resources, stable supply of energy and cleaner source of power.

Natural gas is the fuel for sustainable growth and development, helping to meet the world’s growing energy needs as the cleanest-burning fossil fuel with a globally abundant and diverse supply.  Malampaya Phase 3 is one of the project’s next phases of development which will be implemented in accordance with the original Malampaya field development plan.

Aside from maximizing the recovery of gas from the reservoir, this will benefit the Philippines in terms of energy security and government revenues from the project. The fabrication and construction of the MP3 Depletion Compression Platform at the Keppel Subic Shipyard is the first project of its kind to be done in the Philippines and by Filipinos.