First Group of Students Complete Their Studies in LUKOIL Training Center in Iraq

MOSCOW, August 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

The first group students have completed their studies in the training center of LUKOIL Overseas Mid-East Ltd., LUKOIL's operating company for West Qurna-2 project, in Basra province in Iraq.

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170 Iraqi nationals who have completed a 1.5 year training program were immediately assigned to different facilities of West Qurna-2 field depending on their obtained qualifications, including well production, treatment of oil and gas, instrumentation and control, electrical and mechanical engineering. The second group of 160 students will complete their studies in May 2014. In addition, preparations are ongoing to host the third group of 180 students who will begin their studies in January 2014.

The center opened its doors for students in December last year. The training program was provided by SPIE Oil&Gas Services, one of the global leaders in the area of training technical personnel for large oil and gas projects.

The program consists of several competency-oriented modules and covers necessary applied technical disciplines, HSE, leadership development courses and on-the-job training.

In addition to classrooms, the center hosts specialized computer-equipped training laboratories for English language and special disciplines, a library, technical support office, training workshops, administrative building, staff room, canteen, first-aid post and a recreational area. The center can simultaneously host up to 350 students.

About LUKOIL Overseas

LUKOIL Overseas is an integral part of the Russian LUKOIL Group. This foreign upstream subsidiary manages LUKOIL's international oil and gas production and exploration projects in 13 countries, providing 5.1% of the Group's total crude oil volume and 24.7% of its natural gas. Web-site: http://www.lukoil-overseas.com

About West Qurna-2 Project

In 2009, a consortium of LUKOIL and Norway's Statoil won a tender for the development of the West Qurna-2, one of the largest undeveloped fields in the world with recoverable reserves of about 13 billion barrels. In May 2012 LUKOIL increased its interest to 75% due to Statoil. First commercial oil production is scheduled for 2013-2014. More information on: http://lukoil-overseas.com/projects/irak/