LUKOIL and Falck Nutec, a Norwegian company, have reached an agreement to build a corporate offshore training centre for oil and gas facilities.

Technical and psychological training, emergency survival skill guidance and education of administrative personnel will be focused on at the facility.

It will be located in the Ilyinka settlement, Astrakhan region in the North Caspian Sea.

The two companies will also cooperate on the coordination of the teaching at the site to train employees to work at offshore oil and gas facilities.

Vagit Alekperov, the president of LUKOIL, stated: "The need to establish a specialised corporate training centre ensues from the company's strategic objectives, development prospects of the offshore fields located in the North Caspian Sea and an increased number of international projects."

The first centre will open in the fourth quarter of 2009 with 2,500 trainees using it every year.

LUKOIL announced last month that it reduced factory prices for motor gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

Oil & Gas Directory: Training & Development