New training courses on pipeline construction safety will begin soon in West Virginia, Ohio, and California as part of a groundbreaking partnership that was launched less than a year ago, the presidents of the American Petroleum Institute and North America’s Building Trade Unions (NABTU) jointly announced on Feb. 4.
“Safety remains the No. 1 priority for the natural gas and oil industry and we are constantly striving to do more to reach zero incidents—starting with the construction of pipelines and finishing with the delivery of energy to US consumers,” API Pres. Mike Sommers said. “The training programs we’re collaborating on are the foundation of our mutual priorities of safety, job growth, and economic opportunity for American workers.”
NABTU Pres. Sean McGarvey said, “Building things is what we do. The partnership between the oil and gas industry and NABTU is critical to ensuring that our members have a foundational understanding of best practices and key safety measures when it comes to pipeline infrastructure.”
The first of the Pipeline Construction Safety Training Program courses will take place at NABTU training facilities in West Virginia, Ohio, and California later this month and in March, they jointly told reporters at API’s headquarters. More safety courses are being scheduled throughout the year around the US, they added.
More pipelines are essential because crude oil production continues to grow so quickly in the US that existing capacity has become inadequate and shipments by rail have resumed, the officials said.
Sommers said, “We need a durable infrastructure. The key for us is to move our products to consumers safely and reliably. But there’s no question that investment capital is sitting on the sidelines because legal challenges are delaying too many pipeline projects. These are national security as well as state and local issues. This country could not have taken such a strong stand against the Maduro regime in Venezuela the past few weeks without access to Canada’s heavy crude.”
McGarvey added, “The US now has the ability to use its energy assts to defend the Free World from countries which use their oil and gas exports for political purposes. API and the building trades are making a sensible argument.”
NABTU is opening a $150-million national training center outside Houston in addition to the hundreds of smaller training programs it plans to operate, McGarvey said.
