Young engineers soak up pipeline fundamentals

Developing young Saudi engineering talent and encouraging them to embrace the basics of pipeline engineering has been the focus of a course delivered by PD&T.

From across Aramco, 54 young engineers completed a two-week “Fundamentals of Pipeline Engineering (MEX-300)” course over two different sessions in June and October.

Modules

The course, which was an initiative of the Pipelines HR Committee, consisted of 22 modules developed in-house by subject matter experts from the Project and Technical Support Department (P&TSD), the Consulting Services Department, and the Inspection Department, with the support of the Technical Services Professional Academy.

The company’s PD&T and its employees ensure daily that the Kingdom’s hydrocarbon products reach domestic and global markets with quality assured, and above all, safely and reliably.

The objective of the course was to address technical competency needs of young pipelines engineers in areas that are specific to the business.  

Mohammad A. Al Hatlani, Pipelines general manager and Walid S. Al Kulaibi, P&TSD manager, inaugurated the proceedings alongside other members of the organization’s management.

Continuous development  

While addressing the participants, Al Hatlani praised the efforts of the organizers and young engineers.

“To continue managing our pipelines, our young engineers require continuous development. Their diligent knowledge and skills are Aramco’s greatest asset,” he said.

“To maintain our edge, we must remain committed to the development of our highly qualified technical talent. Pipelines are considered a major element in the transport of oil and gas, which makes Aramco one of the world’s largest single hydrocarbon networks.

“This massive network is being managed by competent people supported by well-established operation, maintenance, and integrity programs to sustain a safe, robust, and reliable network,” said Al Hatlani.

“This course underscores the company’s technical and operational expertise and commitment to work safely, responsibly and sustainably, seeking innovative solutions and utilizing state-of-the-art knowledge,” noted Al Hatlani.

Attraction and development

Al Kulaibi said that the attraction and development of young engineers has been a major priority for PD&T.

“I have always believed in the development of professional engineers and maintaining continuity in business safety as a key priority,” Al Kulaibi said.

To those professionals looking at a career as pipeline engineers and future pipeline leaders, I can tell you it will take your diligence and drive to achieve
— Walid S. Al Kulaibi, P&TSD manager

“To satisfy this commitment, we created and continually enhance the Fundamental of Pipelines Engineering course to ensure our competency capacity is fulfilled with a pool of technical talent capable to maintain that edge.

“We hope that completing the course has given you an accelerated start, which you will continue to develop afterwards, through work and continuous learning,” Al Kulaibi added. 

Quality delivery

P&TSD engineer, Fahad Qahtani, praised the course content and quality of its delivery by the experts.

“The course provided me with a wealth of knowledge covering all aspects of pipeline engineering through its life cycle for plan inception to asset perception, operation, and even abandoning,” said Qahtani.

“It was a showcase of knowledge transfer, as the course modules were delivered by 22 different experts, giving us a great opportunity to know them better and establish a basis for future work collaboration.”