Energy service giant Petrofac yesterday said it will invest £1.5 million in its offshore fire-training base at Montrose.
Petrofac Training Services (PTS) will use the cash to upgrade its 16-acre site in the town, which has been training North Sea workers for 30 years.
The investment means PTS will offer a mix of hands-on training and classroom learning to fire-safety trainees.
It will include a new simulation suite where participants will learn about different scenarios before starting live-fire work.
PTS global director Gordon Caird said: “This is a major investment for Petrofac, for Montrose and for the future of safety training in the north-east.
“It demonstrates the depth of our continued commitment to maintaining and improving safety standards while helping to develop a competent workforce for North Sea operations and indeed around the globe.”
The Angus site formerly part of RGIT Montrose until the whole business was bought by Petrofac for £17.4m in 2004 has trained more than 100,000 people since it opened in the late 1970s.
The upgraded facility will enhance the training experience and ensure that a new generation of offshore workers has the knowledge, tools and confidence which are essential when responding to emergency situations.
The investment will also see the environmental performance of the site substantially improved by converting the live-fire grounds to clean-burning and natural gas, reducing Petrofac’s overall carbon footprint.
Mr Caird said many of the techniques and advanced safety courses offered and developed at Montrose had come about in response to the Cullen Report into the Piper Alpha disaster of 1988 which claimed the lives of 167 North Sea workers.
He said: “Today’s announcement reflects that safety needs continuously evolve and that new technologies are becoming the norm.
“We are investing in order to modernise, maintain and indeed go beyond existing standards.
“We have been working in Montrose and delivering world-class training there for more than 30 years, and we are still investing in our business.
“The north-east has the potential to lead the way in this area and become a centre of excellence for offshore safety, which will no doubt boost the local economy and increase safety around the world.”
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