Despite the efforts of the whole Oil&Gas industry when hundreds of safety regulations are in place, all systems are several times redundant and personnel come highly trained, people still face extremes daily so emergencies happen fairly regularly with various degree of harm done both to staff and environment. In these conditions OPITO (Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization) came up with absolutely specific branch of training - Emergency Response Training which would provide management personnel with clear protocol of actions in case of emergencies on the offshore installation so as to minimize the aftermath of the crisis.

The Control Room Operator Emergency Responce (CRO) course gives Control Room staff instructions on their actions for an accident. They learn to identify critical situations, activate relevant alarms, monitor situations and report it correctly, etc.

The Major Emergency Management Initial Response (MEMIR) training is usually taken up by the offshore personnel assigned to the Emergency Management Team of their working site. As a rule 35% of the course in classroom based and devoted to the general theory of Emergency Management, command centre facilities and coping with stress. After that follows a practical part with simulated parts of major emergencies. Trainees are required to assess the situation and take correct decisions, delegate tasks and manage their teams.

The OIM Controlling Emergencies (Coaching and Assessment) is another important training among  Emergency Response Training group. It sometimes precedes an appointment of Offshore Installation Manager as it gives an unbiased assessment of the chosen person’s abilities to control the situation during emergency. In course of the exam 3 or 4 scenarios are simulated including a combination of incidents like injured personnel or casualties, man overboard, mass panic, environmental disaster, loss of positioning, quickly aggravating situation leading to information overload. OIM is required to cope with the scenarios successfully to receive the OPITO certificate.

Not least important are trainings which educate to deal with the offshore emergencies on the informational level. Manager Public Relations and External Affairs Training and Media Response Training help to reduce negative resonance, protect families’ privacy and company’s reputation which are valuable assets as well.