PROSPECTING FOR SUCCESS

       From humble origins, the Thai petroleum industry's training and certification centre for engineers and professionals has won international acclaim,writes Yuthana Praiwan in Songkhla
       The Thai petroleum industry has established a global presence with the successful operation of its Technical Petroleum Training Institute (TPTI), now counted among Asia's leading training centres for the petroleum field.
       Apart from being a regional training centre, the TPTI provides globally recognised certificates for oil engineers and technicians who have taken its courses.
       Its standards are accredited by the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation (OPITO), a leading global oil-and-gas academy. Professionals with certificates issued by the TPTI would be recognised by the global industry as those certified by OPITO.
       "Some engineers who work for the Australia-based Gorgon Petroleum fields came to take courses here instead of going to the training centre in the Middle East," said Kriengdej Assavalertplagorn,the TPTI's technical director.
       The TPTI was established in 2000 when the country's demand for oiland-gas exploration and production had just emerged to develop skills among engineers to serve in the field.
       After breaking even in only three years,the TPTI now sees its income rise to
       more than 100 million baht.
       "This is a good sign. The trust we have gained from multinational companies is proof that we have made a name in the global exploration and production industry," said Krairit Nilkuha, chairman of the board of trustee and a founder.
       The idea to set up the institute originated from the need to reduce the high training and certification costs for engineers and professionals in the field.
       "Initially, the TPTI was set up to serve only local demand as we didn't want to spend lots of money sending our engineers to training centres overseas. At that time, everyone took course in the United States, the Middle East and Singapore and it cost us more than 100,000 baht per person for one certificate. The training courses at those centres provided us with the same skills and knowledge," he said.
       Moreover, holders of international oil-field certificates have to renew them every three years.
       Oil engineers must have internationally recognised certification for their skills and knowledge to ensure they can handle any crisis when working in high-risk oil fields.
       All of these mean oil-exploration companies and equipment suppliers in Thailand needed to spend a lot of money to certify their engineers, estimated at around 150 million baht a year, said Mr Kriengdej.
       "So we came up with the idea of setting up a certifying body by ourselves.Not only would it help develop our staff's skills, local universities would also gain from developing their curricula," he added.
       In its first year of operation, the centre successfully trained 400 professionals,with only US$4 million invested in the faculty and facilities including lecturers,buildings, laboratories and equipment.The seed fund was donated by the Industry Ministry's Department of Mineral Fuels and oil-exploration companies.
       Initially, the TPTI held only a few training courses, mainly those involving well drilling and safety management.Today, the centre has developed more than 100 training courses including English for communication and presentation skills.
       It has also branched out to five provinces from the base in Si Racha, Chon Buri province. It now has operations in Sattahip, also in Chon Buri province,Songkhla, Bang Pu in Samut Prakan province, and Bangkok.
       The centre has a capacity to coach more than 10,000 people this year.
       Last year, the TPTI trained 7,000 people,15-20% of whom were expatriates based in Thailand and Asia-Pacific, said Mr Kriengdej.
       "Instead of paying 100,000 baht for each professional, they [oil-exploring companies] pay us just half that amount.Also, they could enjoy tourist attractions in the country," Mr Kriengdej added.
       "The TPTI would not have come this far without the collaboration of upstream petroleum companies, which have provided us with skillful trainers, lecturers and facilities to help develop the centre until its quality is on par with the world standard," said Mr Krairit.