Petrofac Training Services (PTS) is responding to the industry’s onshore environmental training needs by developing two new courses to tackle onshore oil spills—one of which has achieved a U.K. first, according to a company press release.

The Pipeline Emergency Response Officer (PERO) course trains individuals how to respond in the event of an onshore pipeline incident. The course was originally developed for a customer who approached Petrofac with a requirement for a bespoke training course specific to its onshore pipeline and emergency response procedures.

Piloted at Petrofac’s fire and emergency response training facility in Montrose, Scotland, it involves classroom and emergency response training to develop the PERO’s understanding of the command and control process and of how to liaise effectively with Tier 1 agencies. The emergency response training was simulated in a command trailer used in real incidents, and featured live demonstrations of pool and jet fires to enhance the simulation.

Petrofac also has become the first company in the U.K. to achieve course accreditation from the International Spill Accreditation Association—a world authority, which works to raise response standards of inland and offshore spills—for its Inland Oil Spill Response training course, according to the release.

The course provides spill responders and environmental officers with essential training to effectively tackle onshore spills and minimize the potential for environmental incidents.

Andy Lang, environmental response manager for Petrofac Training Services, has worked in the industry for more than 18 years, dealing first-hand with inland oil spills.

Andy said, “Having the appropriate storage and waste management procedures in place can dramatically decrease the chances of an onshore spill occurring; however, in the event of an incident, spill responders are a company’s most valuable asset in ensuring protection of their site and the surrounding environment.

“In most cases it’s not the quantity of the spill that’s the issue—one liter of oil can spread to the length of a football pitch; therefore, it’s important to make sure personnel have the right skills and training to think about the impact to the wider area, and the expertise to eliminate the spill before contamination.”