Greater oil training requirements have formed part of a settlement agreement between the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Justice Department and Plains All American Pipeline.

The agreement, which comes following various oil leaks from Plains in recent years, will see the company offer greater training with respect to issues such as leak detection and quality control.

It also requires Plains to train field personnel on the best techniques and procedures for proper pipeline cleaning.

Plains has confirmed that in recent years it has been striving to develop its risk assessment strategies and leak detection procedures, adding that many of the new requirements of this agreement have already been introduced to daily operations.

The company handles more than three million barrels of oil and derivatives each day through its transportation and storage network.

A total of ten regulatory violations between June 2004 and September 2007, which saw more than 6,500 barrels of crude leak into the surrounding environment, led to the new agreement.

Oil & Gas Directory: Training and Development