Go Inside Chevron Thailand's State-of-the-Art Petroleum School

Chevron's Settapat Center celebrated the ninth graduating class of the Petroleum Scholarship Training Program during a recent ceremony in Songkhla, Thailand. All 33 graduating trainees are expected to enter careers in the petroleum industry with Thailand's leading energy companies.

Students take part in emergency response training at our state of-the-art training facility, Settapat Center.

Chevron Thailand has run the Settapat Center – a world-class petroleum school with state-of-the-art training facilities – in Songkhla for 30 years. Since 2001, the center's 8-month training program has recruited high-potential personnel, training them into skilled technicians prepared for employment in the petroleum industry.

"We are proud of the success of this exceptional national workforce training program. It has been a very important part of our human resources development plan," said Chevron Thailand President Pairoj Kaweeyanun. "With a large number of our offshore personnel approaching their retirement age, we believe this program will help sustain our capabilities as a reliable energy supplier for Thailand."

Offshore trainers lead a workshop session on offshore-simulated equipment and tools during the 8-month training program.

"This scholarship program is aligned with Chevron's enterprise strategy – invest in people – to strengthen organizational capability and develop a talented work force," added Brian Burke, general manager of Assets. "As PTT Exploration and Production Plc. (PTTEP), a national energy company, is a key partner of this program, it therefore allows Chevron to influence their future organizational capability. It also supports the government's policy to promote local content in the country's energy sector.

"With our intensive curriculum, the students are very well equipped with necessary skills and knowledge, particularly in the operational excellence area, through theoretical study, as well as practical and on-the-job training. This is significant to our commitment to incident-free operation and safety metrics," Burke added.

Brian Burke (front row, sixth from left), general manager of Assets, presides over the graduation ceremony, which included representatives from our partners, as well as other students and trainers.

Admission to the Petroleum Scholarship Training Program is very competitive. This year's 33 graduates were chosen from more than 3,000 applicants nationwide through comprehensive examinations and physical tests. So far, 338 of the trainees awarded this full and bond-free scholarship have received offers of work from leading exploration and production operators and service companies operating in Thailand and the region.

"To prepare our students for their future oil and gas operation mission, we focus on multi-skill trainings on petroleum technology, health, environment, safety, emergency response, leadership, work ethics and social responsibilities. We have also taken a lot of effort to improve their English language skills, as our operating and maintenance documents are typically in English," said Tounchai Kongpitee, Settapat Center's acting manager.

Team building activities focus on discipline, teamwork and cooperation between students and trainers.

These qualified personnel will help to secure the future growth of the petroleum sector and sustainable energy development in Thailand and the region. As a result, the program is considered one of the key strategic people-development programs at Chevron Thailand – and a driving force behind the success of this high-performing profit center.