The head of the Ministry of Environment's Marsa Matrouh branch, Sayyed Dabbour, announced that a project by the Halliburton corporation, to be implemented on land recently purchased by the company east of Matrouh, will aim to develop human resources for the Middle East oil industry. Dabbour said the project is the first of its kind to offer training for technicians and engineers in the oil field. Halliburton plans to construct three on-site oil wells, an administrative building, lecture rooms and two storehouses, one of which will be for radioactive materials. Dabbour said these storehouses will replicate those found at a genuine oilfield but will be used expressly for teaching purposes. Meanwhile, Halliburton said the project will provide instruction to junior engineers through simulation activities. One of the phases of the project involves digging a number of pilot oil wells, he said. The company said only some of the exploration and digging activities will utilize radioactive material similar to that used at hospitals and labs. Such material is commonly used by companies in the field, is safe, and supplied under the supervision of the Ministry of Health, according to Halliburton. The corporation also said it has obtained the necessary approvals from the Matrouh city council, the housing department, and the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency to build the radioactive materials storehouse. The company has issued reassurances to the public that the storehouse will be built according to scientific specifications to prevent any leakage. It also denied any intention to bury radioactive waste. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
