San Juan College ramping up oil, gas training

FARMINGTON – San Juan College will break ground this fall on a $15 million building for its School of Energy, thanks largely to donations from BP America and other companies.

BP will contribute $5 million to build a 50,000-square-foot facility on campus, said college President Toni Pendergrass during a two-day conference in Farmington this week that brought together university and industry representatives to explore emerging oil-and-gas prospects in the San Juan Basin.

The School of Energy, launched in 2003, trains thousands of workers annually, but it’s outgrown the 10,000-square-foot building it currently occupies off campus.

“We have long waiting lists,” Pendergrass told the Journal. “We’re the North American, on-shore trainer of choice for BP America. We provide the training for all new and existing BP employees.”

The college has raised nearly $13.4 million to date for the project. That includes $1 million from the Merrion Oil and Gas Corp. in Farmington, $300,000 from ConocoPhillips, $2 million from San Juan College itself, and an expected $5 million from the state of New Mexico, Pendergrass said.

The school graduates about 250 students a year in its certificate and associate-degree programs, which include unique training in things like natural-gas compression and lease operations. It also trains about 7,000 people annually in a range of industry-related areas.

The expanded facility will allow a lot more training, which is critical as domestic oil and gas production expands.

“The workforce is aging and we’re starting to see a changing of the guard, so we need a lot more young people to take advantage of all the emerging opportunities,” said School of Energy Dean Randy Pacheco.

The school has a 90 percent graduation rate, and about 80 percent of graduates get placed in jobs as they leave the college.

During the conference, San Juan College and the New Mexico Tech announced plans to establish a new agreement for San Juan students to apply two-year associates toward four-year undergraduate degrees. In turn, petroleum engineering and geology students at New Mexico Tech will be able to access hands-on training at San Juan to enhance their professional development.