DPR shuts offshore safety training centres in Warri, Port Harcourt

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has shut the offshore safety training centres in Warri and Port Harcourt operated by Opeans Nigeria Limited.

The Warri facility was, last month, sealed by the Delta State government for alleged want of accreditation documents.The regulator, however, noted that the decision was informed by “non-compliance” with extant regulations.

The Warri Controller of DPR, Antai Asoquo, when contacted, stated: “I act for Warri. I am not in Port Harcourt, so I can only speak for Warri. We went there (Opeans Nigeria Limited Offshore Training Centre in Warri) for accreditation and they did not meet our requirements. So the DPR has not given them permit to operate in Warri.”

The agency, had in a letter addressed to the firm’s Managing, noted: “The Offshore Safety Training Centres operated by your company in Warri, Delta State, and Port Harcourt, Rivers State, do not comply with DPR Guideline and Procedure for Travel to Offshore/Swamp Location and Obtainment of Offshore Safety Permit.”

“The DPR Guideline and Procedure for Travel to Offshore/Swamp Location and Obtainment of Offshore Safety Permit, which took effect from June 2019, stated clearly the mandatory requirements that operators of offshore safety and emergency response training centres must strictly adhere to.”

The embattled firm reportedly conducts courses that include Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (BOSIET), Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET) and Offshore Emergency Training (FOET).

Also, the Director/CEO, Sarki Auwalu, had stated during a webinar session with the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN) that DPR was passionate about entrenching competence and capacity in the oil and gas training space, stating that it was being cautious in granting permits for training organisations to checkmate quackery.