Which is the oilfield which comes closest to Tilenga and Kingfisher Oilfields of Uganda in terms of challenges in developing the oilfield?
The answer is Mangala oilfield, Barmer region, in the state of Rajasthan, India. In January 2004, 3.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent was found in Mangala, making it 2004's biggest discovery of on-shore oil in the world. The crude is waxy crude. The crude in Tilenga and Kingfisher fields are also waxy crude. The Mangala Development Pipeline (MDP) is currently the longest continuously heated pipeline in the world at approximately 700kms but of course when the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) is completed it will take over this record at approximately 1,445kms. The lessons learnt in developing Mangala field, we believe, are invaluable in planning the development of Ugandan fields.
This week and in the coming weeks, we will explore how local content was developed in Mangala oilfield. Some of the initial risks faced in Mangala project were to do with remoteness of the site, poor infrastructure in the project area, lack of competent local vendors, and high level of unemployment among the local population. These are likely to be challenges that we shall be facing in Uganda. As a result, the early stage of the Mangala project witnessed large number of safety incidents and near misses like road accidents, electrocution, under preparedness to deal with changing weather conditions and relationship between social groups. Needless to say that we should plan to avoid repeat of same in Uganda.
Centre of Excellence In order to encourage the local communities to participate in the projects and improve their standard of living, the Operating entity established a Centre of Excellence. Main objective of this centre was to train the local community in various skills that are required for the project, directly and indirectly. This was not only in Technical areas but also in basic health, safety and soft skills. Along with this, a business incubation program was also included, to encourage the relatively more enterprising individuals to develop their own business. This program was a huge success. All these programs involved lot of expenditure.
The Operating Company contributed funds from their Corporate Social Responsibility budget. In addition to this, the local government had set aside a significant sum to top up this CSR budget. With this, a full fledged Centre of Excellence was established. During the development stage of the centre, a project management consultant was appointed to oversee the design, procurement and construction activities of the centre. Once the centre was constructed and ready to operate, The Operator identified a competent service provider to conduct training and incubation programs from the centre. Initial programs were around the disciplines which involved highest number of work force requirement as well as skill needed.
Fabrication and Logistics involved most number of work force. To support this requirement, basic welding, advanced welding, welding inspection, basic defensive driving of automobiles, defensive driving of heavy vehicles and basic automobile maintenance were identified and training programs at various levels of competency were conducted. Along with this program, a government sponsored program for small and medium enterprise (SME) incubation program was also introduced.
Training programs were designed based on international competency requirements. Considering the hazards involved in the business, safety was given considerable importance. Centre was located at site which is remotely located from the towns and villages. Accommodation facilities were provided for the students within the Centre of Excellence. As a result, thousands of personnel came from far and near and benefited from the program.