Lamar State College Port Arthur recently added a new specialized certificate to their already comprehensive list — Liquefied Natural Gas Manufacturing Advanced Technical Certificate.

The certificate, which was approved this summer, comes as a supplement to a process technology or instrumentation degree. The campus received a new hands-on training unit this week to provide students in that field a chance to experience running and operating an actual unit for LNG plants and refineries.

George Bohn, program coordinator for business, industrial technology, instrumentation and LNG, said the Motiva Petrochemical Training Unit is a huge help in providing students with hands-on experience.

“Process training technology is what instrumentation students use for companies such as LNG plants like Golden Pass,” he said. “They also use it in refineries like Motiva and Total as well as chemical plants like Chevron Philips. It operates the systems that run the plants. We’ll use it to train process operators and instrumentation technicians on how to actually do things they’ll need to know in the future.”

Bohn said the unit is actually two operating units called a HOT1 and HOT3, which stand for Hands On Training.

“HOT1 is a circulation unit that circulates through two tanks that heat and cool water,” he said. “HOT3 is actually a distillation unit and there is only three of them in Texas. There’s one of them at McNeese State, one at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi and we have the third one.”

The units were brought in from Sulfur, La. from a company called Polaris. Bohn said it will be approximately three weeks before the units are fully installed and functional.

Bohn said this is going to allow students to show on their resumes that they know how to operate these units.

“We will be using it about four times a semester, and the students will be the ones running the units like a real plant,” he said. “We’ll actually be working shift work and everything.

“It will give them the experience so when they apply for jobs they can show they have that experience. We weren’t able give them that in the past so we’re excited to be able to provide them with this opportunity now.”

A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held Nov. 7 for the official unveiling of the unit.