7 minute read
Board Meeting Update
from IPLOCA Newsletter 99
by Pedemex BV
7-8 March 2024 – San Diego, U.S.A.
Opening remarks
IPLOCA President Roberto Castelli conveyed his thanks and appreciation to Roger Spee for organising a successful Regional Meeting in San Diego on 6 March attended by more than 70 people from the industry.
Safety and CSR moment
Bruno Pomaré, HSE & CSR Committee Chair, spoke about the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) within an organisation and in society on the occasion of International Women’s Week. He shared with the Board the different measures his company takes to encourage diversity in the workplace. For example, when only male candidates apply for a job opening in engineering, he asks the HR department to actively look for suitable female engineer candidates.
HSE & CSR
The next HSE & CSR Committee Meeting was scheduled to be held on 23 April in Windsor, UK, preceding the Novel Construction Spring Session. Bruno Pomaré advised that – at the time of the Board Meeting - 33% of Regular Members had submitted their 2023 HSE Statistics. Once the deadline passed on 2 April, Board Directors would contact companies directly to urge them to submit their data ASAP. In 2022, 88% of Regular Members submitted their HSE Statistics Forms.
Innovation
Gerben Wansink, Committee Chair, presented the Committee Report. The upcoming Novel Construction Spring Session was planned to take place in Windsor, UK, on 24-25 April 2024. Windsor was chosen to celebrate the 20 th anniversary of the launch of the Novel Construction Initiative. The Session would mainly focus on new technologies, energy transition and carbon footprint. New Novel working groups would be launched at the Windsor meeting.
Membership
Bill Solomon, the Committee Chair, presented the Report. The Committee sent out invitations to every IPLOCA member in North America for the Regional Meeting held on 6 March in San Diego. The Committee planned to use different platforms to promote IPLOCA’s various events and activities in the coming months.
Marcin Przywara gave a presentation about how IPLOCA could attract new members. Companies providing some of the specialised parts of a pipeline grid are currently not among the members. Therefore, the Board decided to encourage equipment sellers to join the Association.
Energy transition
Andrew Ball, the Committee Chair, reported that the Committee meets online every month. More than 50 key documents have been shared with the membership via the webpage called “Information sharing and exchange” on the IPLOCA website. The objective is to provide a focal point for the dissemination of information on hydrogen and associated technologies such as carbon capture and storage.
Overall, the documents are more European centric, given the high level of activity in this region. Andrew Ball presented some of the most recent documents such as the “Hydrogen Europe Manifesto” that gives insight into jobs, projects, and challenges around hydrogen. The “Clean Hydrogen Monitor” goes into policy and regulation. The “Hydrogen Production Delivery Road Map”, issued by the UK government, sets out the vision for hydrogen production until 2035.
Andrew Ball planned to set-up at least two webinars on energy transition in the months ahead. The World Hydrogen Week will be held from 30 September to 4 October 2024. The European Hydrogen Week will take place from 18 to 22 November 2024. IPLOCA will mark both events by organising a series of activities.
Scholarship Programme
Saji Khoury, the Project Lead, presented his Report. The Board had previously agreed to finance a total of 12 scholarships in 2024. The deadline to apply was set for 11 March. The selection team would make a decision and inform applicants by the end of April. At the time of the Board meeting 59 applications had been received.
Annual Convention review
The Board had a lengthy discussion about potential Convention locations in the next five years. Convention & Board Meeting Location Project Lead Roger Spee gave an update on the upcoming Convention in Sorrento, Italy, and listed the speakers selected.
The registration fee for one person or a couple will be EUR 2,400 this year. The fee for each Poster Session will be EUR 1,000, while participants will pay EUR 30 per person to participate in a tour. The revenue generated by the Poster Sessions and tours will help finance the IPLOCA Scholarship Fund.
Preparations for the event were on schedule. The Convention brochure was planned to be published on 1 May. Registration was to open on 15 May. Like last year, the theme of this year’s convention will be “Together – Delivering Sustainable Energy Infrastructure.” The Maats/Liebherr Golf Tournament will be held on 11 September 2024.
The Board decided to select Izmir, Turkey, as the location for the 2025 Annual Convention.
Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer, Adam Wynne Hughes, presented the report and advised that the auditors would review the accounts of 2023 in a couple of months’ time. 62% of membership fees had been paid by members as of 29 February 2024.
Membership changes
At the time of the Board Meeting, the IPLOCA membership status was 81 Regular Members, 104 Associate Members and 33 Corresponding Members.
The Associate Membership application of Shaw Pipeline Services, Inc . was approved by the Board.
The following terminations/resignations were received:
- ZAKHEM International Construction Ltd.
- IFC Techprocomplect LLC (TIAL)
IPLOCA NextGen Network
Under the guidance of Saji Khoury, the Association launched the IPLOCA NextGen Network. Its purpose is to establish a collaborative forum that encourages the next generation of industry professionals to connect, share knowledge, and gain easy access to the IPLOCA community. Additionally, it aims to empower young professionals by providing them with a voice within IPLOCA and supporting their career development.
Each board member was asked to nominate at least one NextGen member under the age of 35 from within their organisation. The Network will be launched officially at the Annual Convention in Sorrento in September.
Solar Turbines visit
Roberto Castelli thanked Doug Bailey and Caterpillar for organising a highly informative and engaging visit to Solar Turbines, headquartered in San Diego, and for hosting the group onboard the Spirit of Solar for a tour around the San Diego Bay area on 7 March.
Changes to the By-laws
IPLOCA Executive Secretary Georges Hage proposed changes to the IPLOCA By-laws which were approved by the Board. The changes concern mainly the voting rights related to representatives of Associate Members serving as Officers on the IPLOCA Board. Members will be informed about the proposed changes to the By-laws and will be asked to approve these changes during the AGM in Sorrento.
The Board approved changes to IPLOCA’s mission and vision statements. The new mission statement reads as follows: “IPLOCA’s mission is to support the delivery of sustainable energy infrastructure, including pipeline construction, by providing a forum for sharing knowledge globally, facilitating business opportunities and innovation, and promoting the highest standards in business ethics, as well as in health, safety, the environment, and corporate social responsibility.“
This is the new vision statement: “Our vision is to work together to ensure the sustainable growth of our member companies and shape the industry as an authority on topics related to sustainable energy infrastructure, including pipeline construction.”
Regional Meetings: Cairo, Buenos Aires, Muscat and Krakow
The next IPLOCA Regional Meeting, organised by the Directors of the region, Saji Khoury and Leonardo Gravina, will take place in Cairo, Egypt, on 5 June. Pablo Brottier leads the planning of a Regional Meeting to be held in December 2024 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Saji Khoury manages the preparations for a Regional Meeting to be held in March 2025 in Muscat, Oman. Marcin Przywara oversees a Regional Meeting scheduled to take place in June 2025 in Krakow, Poland.
The Directors of the Board look forward to meeting members and non-members at these events.
