As part of their national objectives, Takatuf Oman, the Human Capital solutions provider, wholly owned by Oman Oil Company (OOC), in partnership with Schlumberger Oman inaugurated the region’s newest Institute for Oil and Gas (instOG). The inauguration ceremony was held under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Shihab Bin Tariq Al-Said, adviser to His Majesty the Sultan, and attended by a number of excellencies and officials from the oil and gas industry.

The shareholders together identified a substantial demand for skilled engineers and geoscientists in the energy sector. Hence, instOG is fully equipped with the industry’s latest technology, including drilling simulators and virtual reality technology that replicates the real work environment on site. instOG is located at Oman’s new hub for scientific and technological development, Innovation Park Muscat (IPM).

“IPM was created with the aim of making research and innovation one of the pillars of the economy in the Sultanate. Today, with instOG opening, we accomplish an important milestone in our plan. We believe instOG will make a significant contribution to the development of human resources and capabilities, to employ scientific research and innovation in addressing the industry’s challenges and taking it a step further” commented His Highness Dr. Fahad Al-Said, Assistant Secretary-General for Innovation Development at The Research Council.

“Oman Oil Company facilitates the transfer of expertise and technology to build a knowledge-based economy through building strategic partnerships with petroleum industry leaders, and invests in training programs to raise the skills of the national workforce. Oman Oil group of companies contributes to achieving sustainable development goals in the area of human capital, as one of the main focus areas of the company.” said Eng Isam Al Zadjali, Chief Executive Officer of Oman Oil Company (OOC).

Moreover, instOG is a unique training institute not only in Oman, but the region. It integrates state of the art simulation technology that enables immersive training and development to take place, replicating real world situations. Programmes where designed to cover the full range of upstream activities in the Oil and Gas industry, from subsurface to surface and production activities. “These integrated programmes and technology avoid the creation of silos around each discipline and promote a broader and integrated vision of the professionals on site, leading to improved performance,” added Eng Mohsin Al Hadhrami, Managing Director of Schlumberger Oman.

In fact, the pedagogical goal of instOG is to have structured, long-term career development programmes for petro technical professionals in the disciplines of Geology, Geophysics, Petro Physics, Reservoir Engineering, Drilling and Wellsite Engineering, as well as Production Engineering. “These advanced courses aim to focus on mid-career oil and gas professionals looking for an upskill and fresh university graduates of Engineering and Geo-Science looking for practical training that will significantly increase their autonomy once they join the labour market,” said Sheikh Ibrahim Al Harthi, Managing Director of Takatuf Oman.

instOG was conceptualised to prepare Omani professionals for the industry’s high standards, where even the engineering, procurement and construction contract of instOG were significantly allotted to Omani companies to stimulate the development of ICV and actively encourage the country’s ambition to achieve its objectives. The institute will add further value by responding to Oman’s workforce development needs by offering innovative human capital solutions for the oil and gas sector.

The Institute is spread over an area of about 12,000sqm, and includes a number of facilities including a technical training centre, lecture halls and workshops, besides simulation halls, libraries and a service building.