Restrata, Agility Partnership in Training at REP, Iraq

Restrata, a global leader in consultancy and training services, has partnered with leading logistics provider Agility to offer specialised training for oil and gas sector employees at the Rumaila Energy Park (REP) in southern Iraq.

The REP's new training centre will offer a wide range of courses related to health and safety and oil and gas industry operations. All training courses meet international standards, are accredited, and include transportation, catering and security services.

The REP is a one million square meter, fully serviced industrial park developed by Agility Real Estate, providing a one stop shop for companies operating in southern Iraq. The REP includes warehouse facilities, workshops, lay-down yards, offices, and life support camps and provides logistics, maintenance, catering, and housekeeping services to companies using the facility.

The REP is ideally located to service and support the development of the major oil fields, including Rumaila North/South, West Qurna, and Zubair, and serves as a secure transit hub to central Iraq.

Colin Hindley, CEO-GIL Iraq at Agility said: “It’s vital that companies working in Iraq and throughout the Middle East continue to focus on training, ensuring that safety and quality standards are met and workers remain safe. Restrata understands the importance of providing relevant training in difficult operating environments.”

Restrata, who recently merged with their sister company, Stirling Group, offers numerous HSSE training packages to clients globally and has operated in the Middle East for more than 25 years. The firm has considerable experience in developing, deploying and providing the arrangements required by organisations to manage health and safety relating to oil and gas effectively.

Will Follett, Vice President of Workforce Development at Restrata, said: “International oil companies (IOCs) are required to meet targets for the number of local workers they employ and it is imperative that, even in the face of the low oil price environment, they are trained to the highest standards.

“Working alongside Agility, we are offering courses in a location that is convenient to the majority of workers looking to develop their skills and gain industry recognised accreditation.

“We aim to build our clients’ resilience through effective and cost efficient management of their safety and security risks and all of our training programmes reflect this. Our training programmes can be tailored to meet the individual requirements of a company, following support with the full risk evaluation, and courses cover both preventative and reactive skills in order to fully prepare them for working in hazardous conditions.”

Focused on providing risk management across the full HSSE spectrum, Restrata works with a range of high risk industries across the world to help establish the necessary emergency response and crisis management arrangements to allow organisations to respond effectively and responsibly to any incident.

In Iraq, the firm has been involved in numerous projects that combine evaluation and analysis with the development and delivery of a client specific training programme. These include firefighter training for Gazprom at Badra Field, HSE training for Lukoil at West Qurna 2, English language and soft-skills training for Petrochina at Halfiya; and security training on behalf of BP (ROO) for the Oil Field Protection Force at Rumalia.

In addition, Restrata has worked around the Middle East and North Africa on projects focused on developing the local workforce, most recently signing an agreement with Egyptian National Falcon to train several thousand security personnel over a six month period and establish a Training Academy to support long-term sustainability.

Serving clients across the world from its offices in the UK, Kurdistan, Algeria, Iraq, Qatar, Malaysia, Australia and headquartered in the UAE, Restrata provides a range of safety and security services including consultancy, situational awareness and tracking, training and response services in crisis and continuity management, fire and rescue services, safe journey management, HSE management and workforce development.