HCB MONTHLY | SEPTEMBER 2019

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TRAINING IS ONE of the greatest investments a business can make, and that goes for staff at any level of seniority. Providing instruction and further education improves employee skills, shows commitment from the business to staff and encourages longevity in roles. Training is even more essential when dealing with specialised industries and niche sectors within that industry.

The Malta Petroleum Training Academy, a subsidiary of Channoil Consulting, has been operating successfully since 2016 and has even received input from the Maltese Prime Minister wanting to utilise Malta’s location as a hub for oil trading services. Due to its geographical location, ships bunker at the island nation when passing through either the Bosporus or the Suez Canal and the

FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

PETROLEUM • CHANNOIL’S MALTA-BASED TRAINING IS A MAGNET FOR INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS AROUND THE WORLD LOOKING TO HONE THEIR SKILLS IN OIL TERMINAL AND TRADING OPERATIONS

entities in Malta that deal with bunkering ships – in harbour and offshore – can benefit from improvements in business skills and techniques via Channoil’s training courses.

The Petroleum Training Academy has two sets of two-day international oil training courses arranged in Malta in October. The first is on oil terminal operations, running on 21 and 22 October, and the second is on oil trading operations, on 23 and 24 October.

EXPERT KNOWLEDGERichard Johnstone, senior associate at Channoil Consulting, is the course leader, masterminding training at the Malta Petroleum Training Academy. He is an Oxford University graduate with more than 30 years’ experience in major industry organisations, including BP,

Kuwait Petroleum, BNOC and BG Group. A principal lecturer for Mennta Energy Solutions (formerly the Oxford Princeton Programme) and the Cass Business School (City University London), Johnstone’s expertise covers all areas of oil supply and trading.

“We’ve been doing two courses a year,” says Johnstone. “Previous courses have covered LNG pricing and trading; bunker operations and trading; international oil trading and shipping contracts.”

The oil terminal operations course for October 2019 covers four main areas:• Health and Safety Executive (HSE):

hazardous substances, identifying and managing risks, HSE management systems, policies and procedures

• Storage facilities: maintenance, inspection, other ‘housekeeping’ requirements

• Measurement of quantity and quality, loss and contamination avoidance

• Terminal and marine operations: user contract terms and conditionsThe oil trading operations course covers

the following:• Stages in a cargo trade: negotiation

and implementation• Oil sales and purchase contracts:

price clauses, operational clauses, other clauses and contract risks

COURSES & CONFERENCES 45

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• Shipping: tankers, chartering, freight calculation, operations, laytime and demurrage

• Product quality, blending, quantity and quality measurement, cargo insurance and claims“The course is accredited by CPD and those

completing the course receive certification,” adds Johnstone. “It is essential for oil industry professionals and related sectors.”

The courses cover a wide range of presentations that are further supplemented by interactive discussions and practical exercises for delegates to work on in small syndicate groups. The examples used in the courses have been designed to simulate realistic scenarios from daily life in the industry to provide an immersive and relatable comparison for professionals. Offering both courses back-to-back as a package is a new addition for this year. Bespoke courses can be requested and arranged by Channoil for any international location.

Channoil’s consultants are experienced as trainers and in developing and delivering courses, notably a module as part of the MSc in energy, trade and finance at Cass Business School. Johnstone was asked to design a three-month module within the MSc called ‘oil and energy trading’, which typically has a class of 60 international students, including mature students that are often sent by their companies or countries to benefit from the course.

Once the course has been completed, attendees are asked to fill out a brief feedback form to provide Channoil with information about how and where the courses can improve for the future. “We only ask people to fill out four boxes, not 44 boxes as we’ve all experienced at one time or another,” laughs Johnstone.

WHO AND WHY?Channoil believes that these courses would be ideal for a range of staff members, specifically oil and trading company mid-tier office, supply and trading operations staff, including new entrants to the oil trading function; terminal operators; terminal accounting and stock management personnel; professional personnel inside and outside oil and trading

companies who interface with these functions, including legal, banking, insurance and finance; government and public sector staff who deal with companies operating in this field; and litigators and auditors for continuing professional development.

Johnstone explains: “We typically have eight to 15 attendees, half of which are from Malta and the other half from mainland Europe, the UK and the Middle East, representing

both the public and private sectors. This also includes people that are incredibly senior in the business. We’ve had managing directors and even a permanent secretary to one of the Maltese ministers. People from abroad tend to be more middle-management or those with five years’ experience needing to broaden their knowledge.”

For those wanting to take advantage of Channoil’s expert guidance and attend either or both of the courses in Malta, registrations must be received by 3 October 2019. The fee for each of the two-day courses is €1,700 per delegate and the cost for the two courses together is €3,000 per delegate. There is a 10 per cent discount for registration of two or more delegates from the same organisation. To register, please send the name, company and position, contact e-mail, telephone number and address to Kirsten Dibley (k.dibley@channoil.com). HCBwww.channoil.com

MALTA’S LOCATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF THE

MEDITERRANEAN SEA ENSURES THAT THE

PETROLEUM TRAINING ACADEMY ATTRACTS STUDENTS

FROM FAR AND WIDE, ALL WITH THE SAME AIM OF

IMPROVING THEIR INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE

“PROVIDING FURTHER EDUCATION IMPROVES

EMPLOYEE SKILLS, SHOWS COMMITMENT

AND ENCOURAGES LONGEVITY IN ROLES”