First Group Graduates Welder Training Program
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, March 18, 2005. -- The first fifteen graduates of an international Welder Training Program sponsored in part by Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL) obtained Certificates of Completion issued by Sakhalin Alaska College today. Reaching this new level of professional skills will allow the graduates to participate in complex construction activities under Sakhalin Shelf Development Projects.Some of the trainees were Sakhaliners seeking jobs through the Sakhalin Employment Agency. Cooperation between the College and the Agency enabled the individuals to obtain skills required for employment. Well-equipped welding facilities allowed the trainees to receive not only theoretical knowledge, but also hands-on training and practical skills necessary for handling advanced welding equipment. Fifteen additional trainees have been selected for the program and have already started training.
The main partners in this Welder Training Program are the Sakhalin Alaska College and ENL Operator of the Sakhalin-1 Project. Financial support was also provided by a USAID via a special grant.
Vladimir Borodin, one of the graduates from the first group of trainees, believes that such skill-enhancing programs have significant social benefits for the people of Sakhalin. I am very pleased that I was able to upgrade my professional skills. I have no doubts that these skills will help me to find an interesting and well-paid job. My whole family has been looking for such an opportunity for a long time.
The Sakhalin-1 Project, one of the largest foreign direct investment projects in Russia, includes the Chayvo, Odoptu and Arkutun-Dagi fields. The Project will recover approximately 307 million tons (2.3 billion barrels) of oil and 485 billion cubic meters (17.1 trillion cubic feet) of gas. The total investment in full field development is estimated at over US$12G (2002 dollars). To date, in excess of US$ 3G has been spent on Project activities. In addition to ENL (30% interest, Operator), the Sakhalin-1 Consortium includes the Japanese company Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development Co., Ltd. (30%), Indian company ONGC Videsh Ltd. (20%) and two Russian companies, Sakhalinmorneftegas-Shelf (11.5%) and RN-Astra (8.5%).
For more information on the Sakhalin-1 Project, please contact Michael Allen (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk 4242 66 88 12), Glenn Waller (Moscow 095 564-8950), or logon to the Sakhalin-1 website (www.sakhalin1.ru and www.sakhalin1.com)