BP has already made considerable headway in increasing local training and knowledge transfer in southern Iraq as it begins production in the Rumaila field.

The British company won a joint contract with China National Petroleum Corp to develop the field jointly and since the first day of operations both have been committed to boosting local participation in the sector.

Such was the claim of Michael Townshend, BP's president of Iraqi operations, who explained during a recent interview that both companies are also working with local firms to support development of the field.

"In terms of training we have already started working with the British Council, undertaking preliminary English language needs assessment for staff working on Rumaila," he told the Energy Exchange.

However, he added that the company was still in the preparatory stages of developing the field, and training efforts would continue to build pace as the project moved forward next year and in 2011.

BP won the Rumaila field in the first of two bidding rounds held in 2009, in the process becoming the first private foreign oil company to enter the country following the imposition of international sanctions on Iraq following its invasion of Kuwait.

Oil and Gas Directory: Training and Development