1. Telling the truth for more than 30 years...
(/)
(/events-blog/)
(https://service.qfie.com/WRMEA/clsWRMEANewOrdForm.asp?
straspreason=210&PubCode=WARPT&TrackCode=MAGAZINE)
■ 2001 March Table of Contents (/2001-march/2001-march-table-of-
contents.html)
0
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 2001, page 64
Libya: Looking Toward a Post-Lockerbie Future
HOME (http://www.wrmea.org/)
MAGAZINEMAGAZINE
SUBSCRIBESUBSCRIBE (https://www.qfie.com/WRMEA/clsWRMEANewOrdStep1.asp?(https://www.qfie.com/WRMEA/clsWRMEANewOrdStep1.asp?
strAspReason=102&PubCode=WARPT&TrackCode=MAGAZINE)strAspReason=102&PubCode=WARPT&TrackCode=MAGAZINE)
DONATE (/donate-to-american-educational-trust.html)
BOOKS & MORE (http://www.middleeastbooks.com/)
ACTIVISTACTIVIST RESOURCESRESOURCES
CONGRESS & U.S. AID TO ISRAELCONGRESS & U.S. AID TO ISRAEL
ABOUT USABOUT US
Page 1 of 7WRMEA | Tripoli's Petroleum Training and Qualifying Institute
5/13/2015http://www.wrmea.org/2001-march/tripoli-s-petroleum-training-and-qualifying-institut...
2. Tripoli’s Petroleum Training and Qualifying
Institute
By Delinda Hanley
Young men dressed in khaki uniforms streamed into classes as we arrived at the
campus of the Petroleum Training and Qualifying Institute in Tripoli. Ali El-
Kharroubi, who studied in the U.S., worked in Yemen and drilled oil wells all
over Libya before coming to the Institute as chairman of its management
committee, talked about the school.
Seven different committees select young men aged 15 to 18 from all over
Libya—and even applicants from other countries—with high test scores to train
in this highly competitive institute for jobs in the oil industry. Some 700
students applied from Tripoli alone, Mr.El-Kharroubi said, but only 127 were
admitted.
While there are no female students at the institute, he said, this is more
because of the nature of the work, which requires working in the desert for long
periods of time. Women are as eligible as men to apply to the institute, which
does have some female engineering instructors.
First-year students take courses in math, technical drawing, English, physical
education and other subjects. The following year they begin studies in one of 10
specialities: drilling, processing, production, mechanics, electrical work,
refrigeration and air conditioning, safety instrumentation, maintenance,
welding, or computing. All graduates of the institute are guaranteed jobs.
Throughout their three years of study at the institute, in fact, each student
knows which company he eventually will join.
The institute’s training coordinator is Mustafa Al Zintani, who also studied in
the U.S.—in California, Texas, Indiana and Michigan—in the 1970s, along with
4,000 other Libyan students. Today, he said, some of the institute’s graduates,
especially in drilling, often work in the Emirates or other Arab countries.
Abdurrezag M. Abozaid is the head of the institute’s drilling and workover
division. On our way to the large building that houses the institute’s enormous
simulator, we learned that the institute used to be the farm of an Italian
countess! The barn was converted into classrooms, and the first simulator was
brought over from England. It was difficult to imagine the technical campus as
a royal bucolic retreat—and difficult not to be impressed by the hard work and
dedication which brought about its transformation.
The massive simulators replicate drilling in desert conditions, complete with
mud, which Mr. Abozaid told us was a “key issue” because, if not properly
controlled, it can lead to loss of circulation and blow-outs. The simulator also
gives students a real sense of what living on a rig is like.
Page 2 of 7WRMEA | Tripoli's Petroleum Training and Qualifying Institute
5/13/2015http://www.wrmea.org/2001-march/tripoli-s-petroleum-training-and-qualifying-institut...
3. The best drilling rigs are American, Abozaid said. Because of the U.S. embargo,
however, Libya does not have access to them. Moreover, the institute’s
simulators have been shut down because they need small spare parts available
only in the U.S. The institute’s huge Singer 5000 simulator, for example, has
been down since 1983 because the transformer needs a tiny electrical micro-
switcher signal.
As we took our leave of the institute, we were impressed once again by the
friendliness and professionalism of American-education Libyans, and the waste
of resources, cooperation and understanding which is the result of U.S. policy
toward an industrious and ingenious people.
Delinda C. Hanley is the news editor of the Washington Report.
SIDEBAR 1
American Oil Companies Missing Out
The discovery of oil in 1959 transformed Libya from a poor nation just
gaining its independence to a far more prosperous country, which in 1991
ranked 12th among petroleum producers worldwide. A vital part of Libya’s
economy, oil constitutes 75 to 90 percent of state revenues. According to
official sources, Libya earned $11.7 billion from oil exports in 2000, which
is more than double its 1998 earnings.
The petro-chemical industry, which depends on the oil sector for raw
materials, has experienced rapid growth, with large-scale industrial
complexes situated at Ras Lanuf and Bu Kammash. The country’s main oil
fields are linked by pipeline to terminals on the coast. At the beginning of
1999, Libya’s OPEC production quota was 1.227 million barrels per day
(bpd), less than half of its peak production output of 3.3 million bpd in
1970. Libya’s oil is of the highest grade, a low sulphur, sweet crude oil.
With the lifting of U.N. sanctions, increased investment, and several new
oil discoveries has come renewed international interest in Libya’s oil fields.
A poll of 76 global oil companies (New Ventures 2000 survey) indicated
that Libya is the number one preferred location for oil exploration and
production. More than half of its potential oil and gas are still to be
explored. The country’s oil has very low production costs and the oil fields
are close to the refineries and markets of Europe. At least 90 percent of
Libyan oil exports go to Western Europe, with Italy, Germany, Spain and
Greece the biggest customers. The Libyan government is offering
production-sharing incentives to attract foreign investors to oil
exploration and production during the coming decade. By 2005 the country
is expected to have increased its proven reserves to as many as 50 billion
barrels, up from 29 billion in 1997. For more information visit
<www.globalenergyintel.com (http://www.globalenergyintel.com/)>. or
www.mbendi.co.za (http://www.mbendi.co.za/)
—DCH
Page 3 of 7WRMEA | Tripoli's Petroleum Training and Qualifying Institute
5/13/2015http://www.wrmea.org/2001-march/tripoli-s-petroleum-training-and-qualifying-institut...
4. back to top
Most Popular Articles in this Issue
• Muslim-American Activism: President Clinton Accepts Framed
Quotation from Qur’an... (/2001-march/muslim-american-activism-
president-clinton-accepts-framed-quotation-from-quran.html)
• Women's Rights and Social Affairs Programs Vital to Libya's Progress...
(/2001-march/women-s-rights-and-social-affairs-programs-vital-to-
libya-s-progress.html)
• Tripoli's Higher Institute of Computer Technology Looks Forward to
Lifting of U.S. Sanctions... (/2001-march/tripoli-s-higher-institute-of-
computer-technology-looks-forward-to-lifting-of-u.s.-sanctions.html)
• A Look at Libya's "Space Technology" in Tripoli's Cultural and Scientific
Complex... (/2001-march/a-look-at-libya-s-space-technology-in-tripoli-
s-cultural-and-scientific-complex.html)
• Trade and Finance: Will the New Administration Formulate New Iran,
Caspian Policies?... (/2001-march/trade-and-finance-will-the-new-
administration-formulate-new-iran-caspian-policies.html)
0 Comments 1
Subscriber Login
"
#
Remember Me
Page 4 of 7WRMEA | Tripoli's Petroleum Training and Qualifying Institute
5/13/2015http://www.wrmea.org/2001-march/tripoli-s-petroleum-training-and-qualifying-institut...
5. Forgot your username? (/lost-user-name.html)
Forgot your password? (/lost-password.html)
If you do not have a Digital Issue account, contact Webmaster
(mailto:webmaster@wrmea.org?subject=Please sign me up for Digital Issue
access) and one will be created for you.
Spread the Word
CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIAL
(http://www.contactingthecongress.org/)
CONTACT YOUR LOCAL MEDIA (http://www.refdesk.com/paper.html)
JOIN OUR ACTION ALERT EMAIL LIST TODAY!
(http://mail.wrmea.org/)
(http://rememberthesechildren.org/remember2014.html)
Remembering Richard H. Curtiss (/remembering-richard-h.-curtiss-june
-131927-jan.-31-2013.html)
(06/13/1927-01/31/2013)
Page 5 of 7WRMEA | Tripoli's Petroleum Training and Qualifying Institute
5/13/2015http://www.wrmea.org/2001-march/tripoli-s-petroleum-training-and-qualifying-institut...
