Training Leaders Petrofac and Raytheon Partner to Provide Water Survival Training at NASA's Johnson Space Center

Friday, Nov 18, 2011

Petrofac Training Services, a member of the Petrofac group, and Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC (RTSC),a subsidiary of Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), have entered into a strategic partnership to deliver water survival training to the global oil and gas industry. External customers can experience training at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) underwater facility in Houston.

In 2010, NASA selected the Raytheon team to manage and operate the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL) under the NBL/Space Vehicle Mockup Operations Contract and allowed Raytheon to use the facility for nongovernment purposes when it is not being used for NASA mission-related activities. The partnership will fully utilize the resources of the NBL and combine the expertise and capability of Raytheon and Petrofac in training delivery and management, creating a center of excellence for survival training.

"The Raytheon team has managed NASA's NBL training facility since 2003, and has for more than 50 years provided high-consequence training solutions to NASA," said John Harris, RTSC president. "Together, Raytheon and Petrofac will offer similar training solutions to the oil and gas industry customers, who also require a focus on safe operations and mission assurance."

The survival training program begins in December and will be delivered at the JSC facility, which until now has primarily supported astronauts' training. The program will provide trainees with one of the most realistic environments available anywhere in the world for learning critical aspects of water survival. The 6.2 million gallon, 40-foot deep NBL pool was originally designed to support space-walk planning and training using full-scale mock-ups of the International Space Station and Space Shuttle. While the pool will continue to support NASA's space program, a grated floor will be installed in designated areas to support survival training activities.

The partnership will initially focus on delivering Helicopter Underwater Egress Training, Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training, and Further Offshore Emergency Training, three core survival courses delivered throughout the oil and gas industry worldwide. The partnership will also expand into delivery of Emergency Response and Crisis Management training for the oil and gas and other industry sectors by using the NBL's on-site test control rooms.

"We are already seeing demand for survival and ERCM training outpace supply," said Paul Groves, managing director of Petrofac Training Services. "Through this partnership, we can support the growth of the oil and gas industry by combining the technical capability and industry best-practices of Raytheon, Petrofac and NASA to deliver world-class survival and safety training."