BP, Fletcher Technical Community College, and Gov. Jindal celebrate grand opening of state-of-the-art offshore training facility
New home of the Fletcher Integrated Production Technologies program, a regional Deepwater Center for Excellence, made possible through BP’s $4 million investment and a $4 million state of Louisiana match.
HOUMA, La. – March 21, 2014 –BP, Fletcher Technical Community College (Fletcher) along with Gov. Bobby Jindal and other elected officials celebrated the grand opening of the college’s BP Integrated Production Technologies (IPT) Building today. The new home of Fletcher’s IPT program, which the Louisiana Board of Regents recently designated a Deepwater Center for Workforce Excellence, features a 4,000 square-foot lab with $500,000 in state-of-the-art equipment. BP invested $4 million into the project and the state of Louisiana provided a $4 million match.
Gov. Bobby Jindal, BP executives, Olympian Lolo Jones, nationally-recognized Chef John Folse, Congressman Bill Cassidy, State Rep. Gordy Dove, State Sen. Norby Chabert, newly appointed Louisiana Community and Technical College System President Monty Sullivan and community representatives were on-site to celebrate the grand opening.
“As America's largest energy investor, BP is committed to supporting workforce development and education to prepare the next generation of oil and gas industry employees,” said John Mingé, Chairman and President of BP America, Inc. “Fletcher Technical Community College has long been our partner in this vital work, which is crucial to the future of the energy industry and the nation's continued energy security."
“Fletcher Technical Community College’s mission is to ensure our programs are responsive to the needs of the businesses and industries that keep Louisiana economically viable,” said FTCC Chancellor F. Travis Lavigne, Jr. “This partnership with BP and the grand opening of the BP IPT Building will help us to do just that – to complete the workforce development and training critical to keep Louisiana at the heart of the growing energy industry.”
Located near BP’s Houma Operations Learning Center (HOLC), The BP IPT Building will include space for essential offshore specialty training for mobile drilling systems, marine operations, production systems and safety training. The building also includes a math and science center for advanced coursework to prepare the next generation of engineers and classrooms for general studies courses to support Fletcher’s student population.
About BP
Over the past five years, BP has invested nearly $50 billion in the U.S. – more than any other energy company. BP is a leading producer of oil and gas and provides enough energy annually to light nearly the entire country for a year. Employing approximately 20,000 people in all 50 states, BP supports more than 260,000 jobs total through all of its business activities. For more information, go to: www.bp.com/us.
About Fletcher Technical Community College
Fletcher Technical Community College is funded through public and private support, allowing it to develop and fine tune its programs and curricula in response to workforce needs. Fletcher’s Petroleum Division possesses the vision, creativity, expertise, flexibility and technical skills required to effectively respond to the oil and gas industry’s critical need for a highly-skilled workforce. The Division established a $28 million capital campaign to maintain and enhance the performance of the Deepwater Center for Workforce Excellence. Eight million dollars has already been received through generous contributions from BP America, Inc. and the state of Louisiana. An additional $20 million is needed to complete Fletcher’s master plan, which will fulfill the oil and gas industry’s critical need for highly skilled employees. This will fund an outdoor production skid, production maintenance building, faculty endowments, scholarship endowments and two curriculum specialists.
