Nick Smith |Williston Herald Gary Franklin, senior instructor for the new well-control school at the Petroleum Safety and Technology Center, in his classroom after class was completed last week.
One course that is seeing strong enrollment and demand so far is the new well-control school. According to a senior instructor who has visited Williston multiple times to teach the course, the course is of the highest quality and is one that should only grow in popularity and demand.
"I think the relationship between us and Williston State College is going to be beneficial for both of us. I don't see anything that would show it to be otherwise," said Gary Franklin.
Franklin is a senior instructor and Vice President of U.S. Operations at Petroleum College International/Petroleum Training International. The organization is based out of Victoria, Texas.
Well control training, Franklin said, is important to ensuring safe drilling operations and is something companies place a high priority on. "It's a course for supervisor-level people to go to in two-year intervals to learn enhanced safety operations. It reduces the odds of wells blowing out, dumping oil all over the field or anything like that," said Franklin.
According to Franklin, the course consists of three days of class instruction and a series of four simulator exercises. Overall the class takes one week to complete and upon completion the employees who went through the training receive their well-control certification, as does the company.
"It takes five days. We're committed to the idea of not diluting the quality of the program. It's technical material and to do it right you need to be able to provide the student with individual attention every student requires," said Franklin.
The quality, technical material Franklin said they use is a curriculum created at the University of Houston Victoria in the 1950s and has been improved and fine-tuned to meet modern needs since then.
"It's a very well-accepted program," said Franklin.
Franklin said this isn't the first time he and others from Petroleum College International/Petroleum Training International have been in Williston.
Franklin said when they were in Williston and unable to find a meeting room in a local motel, they were provided a room at the college. Franklin said at that time he introduced himself to Deanette Piesik, Executive Director of Train ND/Continuing Educations.
"I asked if they were interested in getting a well-control school up and running for professional and workforce development," said Franklin.
Franklin said conversations about developing such a program with the University of Houston Victoria curriculum took place and eventually led them to starting a relationship with WSC and a course over at the Petroleum Center.
"We were extremely fortunate to get into Williston under the circumstances. It's like anything else, very cyclical with the oil activity, but one thing that's always in demand is well-control training," said Franklin.
Franklin said more and more, oil and gas companies are needing to have certified supervisors and employees who come out to drilling locations. He said safety has become a high priority for companies, to the extent where some companies won't even let supervisors onto the location without first being supervised.
"This is an increasing requirement within the industry. Companies are all concerned about safety and a lot of insurance companies won't touch a company without certification," said Franklin.
Franklin said the well-control school at the Petroleum Center fills both a void and a niche in the region that they see themselves being able to provide and expand in the future.
The first well-control course taught at the center was shortly after the grand opening in June. He said there was two weeks of training provided in both July and September as well.
"We currently are at four weeks of training per calendar quarter," said Franklin.
The goal is to eventually be providing the class once a week. Franklin believes they'll be able to provide that level of classes in the not-too-distant future. He said for their course beginning Dec. 8, there is already interest from three or four companies to send employees to it.
"I see this being like University of Houston Victoria. Williston State College and the center should be able to fill that void and to provide a high quality program for people," said Franklin.
Franklin said the hope is to continue to increase the frequency of offering the class.
"The potential here is limitless."
The Petroleum Safety and Technology Center is located at 421 22nd Ave. East. For more information, call (701) 572-2834.
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