OSUIT Dedicates Natural Gas Compression Training Center
Thursday, September 26, 2013
doubles OSUIT’s capacity to train students in its Natural Gas Compression program
Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology(OSUIT) dedicated the recently completed
Chesapeake Energy Natural Gas Compression Training Center during a public ceremony
on Wednesday, Sept. 25 on the OSUIT campus in Okmulgee.
The 23,920-square-foot centeris the first of its kind in the energy industry,allowingstudentsto
learn to diagnose, service and maintain gas compression equipment in a state-of-the-art
facility.
“We are pleased to open this new training center on OSUIT’s campus,” said Oklahoma
State University (OSU) President Burns Hargis. “It is a world-class facility, providing
our students unparalleled facilities in which to learn.”Thanks in large part to this
facility, enrollment in OSUIT’sNatural Gas Compression program is expected to more
than double from its previous level, according to Dr. Bill Path, President of OSUIT.
Classes began in the new facility in September.
“The new training center will enable OSUIT to more effectively teach students the
technical skills necessaryto maintain and operate natural gas engines and gas compressor
unitsin an industry-quality, laboratory,” said Path. “OSUIT is committed – through
the Natural Gas Compression program – to helpthis vital industry meet its need for
trained technicians. Our graduates will work to build, maintain and operate America’s
vast energy infrastructure and keep it running strong in the coming decades.”
A leadership donation by Chesapeake Energy Corporation, coupled with donations from Devon Energy, ONEOK and Energy Transfer, launched the project in 2012. "We are grateful for the generosity of our energyindustry partners,”Hargis said. “OSUIT is a vital supplier of high-quality talent for a variety of industries and no industry is more important to the future of Oklahoma than energy.
”OSUIT offers an Associate in Applied Science degree in Natural Gas Compression, where students complete four semesters of coursework and two semesters of paid internships. OSUIT has offered the natural gas compression training curriculum since 1974, and created an independent program for the study in 1999.
“We are pleased to join with other energy companies to invest in technical education,”
said Jerry Winchester, Chief Executive Officer of Chesapeake Oilfield Services. “As
America’s natural gas production grows, it is more important than ever that we have
a trained workforce assisting with the safe and reliable transfer of natural gas to
markets.”
For more about the Chesapeake Energy Natural Gas Compression Training Center or the
Natural Gas Compression program at OSUIT, go to osuit.edu/dedication/energy_center.
About Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
OSU Institute of Technology is Oklahoma's only university of applied technology, offering
accelerated degree programs -- including bachelor of technology degrees in civil engineering,
instrumentation engineering, and information technologies and associates in applied
science and associates in science – to students in 73 Oklahoma counties, 24 states
and 16 countries. With more than 25 different degree programs, OSUIT is known for
its high academic standards, world-class teaching facilities, unique partnerships
with business and industry, and one of the highest career placement rates in the region.
For more information about OSUIT, call 918.293.4680 or 1.800.722.4471, or visit the
Web at www.osuit.edu.