The occurrence of environmentally assisted cracking is common in oil and gas industry. At Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), the problem is compounded due to the aged equipment and the presence of hydrogen sulfide in the handling fluid. Nondestructive testing (NDT) is employed to assess the equipment condition without impairing its future usefulness. NDT results and subsequent decisions depend upon the proficiency of the personnel who perform the test. Hence, it is essential to train and certify them in specific NDT techniques identified by the employer to achieve organizational needs. In KOC, the NDT personnel are selected as per the set criteria that include minimum requirements for educational qualification, experience and formal training in NDT methods. Besides, they have to pass the trade test designed and developed by KOC. The selected NDT personnel are then further trained and certified in accordance with KOC’s written practice which is based on SNT-TC-1A. This paper describes the process of selection, training and certification of the personnel in specific NDT techniques and reevaluating them periodically. This process enhances the ability of the NDT personnel to detect and monitor these types of damages more efficiently.

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