A G L O B A L C O M PA N Y W I T H A S T R O N G R E G I O N A L F O C U S
MICA (P) No. 134 / 02 / 2009
A Newsletter Publication by Oil Spill Response Limited | May 2009
WORKING TOGETHER
AN ENDURING PARTNERSHIP By DAVE SALT, Operations Director
Triennial Conference Cycle
With so many different conferences
organised globally, the question often arises as to which one would merit priority attendance amid a tight schedule. From industry’s perspective, there was a need for greater alignment so as to facilitate budget planning, enhance regional and global knowledge sharing capability, and provide better resources for addressing global oil spill issues facing the industry.
Published by OIL SPILL RESPONSE LIMITED >> Printed by COLOUR CAST BUREAU
To this end, industry has chosen to focus its attention on three specific conferences: the International Oil Spill Conference (IOSC) in the United States, Spillcon in Australia / Asia Pacific and Interspill in Europe. This development has since culminated in the Triennial Conference Cycle that we know today, with IOSC 2008 reflecting the start of the new cycle. Our history of involvement Over the years Oil Spill Response has played a major part in planning and supporting these conferences through providing programme coordinators to the organising committees, session chairs and speakers.
In this issue
The Interspill conference, in particular, has been well supported by Oil Spill Response over the years. Starting life as a manufacturers’ forum, it has struggled to become financially self-sufficient. This year, in addition to adopting the Conference into the triennial cycle, the industry has also supported the event by providing seed money to cover advance costs. This allows the financial proceeds to be retained by the Conference organisers to further develop and improve the event. At Interspill 2009, in addition to being one of the Conference’s permanent sponsors, our conference presence will also be enhanced by our provision of no less than seven technical papers, three session chairs and two poster presentations. We will also be organising education workshops for delegates; Interspill 2009 will feature a four-hour workshop on oil spill dispersants with presentations from internationally renowned speakers. Moving towards ‘Working Together’ 2009’s theme of ‘Working Together’ is an illuminating tagline, given the enduring need for industry and government sectors to cooperate actively in improving oil spill response and preparedness. To reinforce this concept of partnership, the Interspill conference is being run
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Focus on Interspill 2008 Dave Salt looks at the Triennial Conference Cycle and its ties with Oil Spill Response.
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ver the years many conferences have been held to deal with oil spill response and preparedness topics, giving scientists, regulators, practitioners, industry representatives and manufacturers a valuable platform to discuss current issues, lessons learned and new developments. More importantly, opportunities have been created for members of the response community to meet, as emergency response is about people and relationships as much as it is about equipment and techniques.
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A Global Initiative Andy Nicoll gives an overview of government/ industry partnerships in oil spill response.
concurrently with the International Maritime Organization’s 4th R&D Forum on Hazardous, Noxious Substances (HNS) in the Marine Environment. Given the presence of so many members of the response community and the detailed planning of the Conference agenda, additional opportunities present themselves through the week, making the event an effective way to catch up on issues with the main players in the response field. For us, relations developed at such meetings form the basis for us on which to forge even stronger cooperative ties with our customers and stakeholders. Once again it is our pleasure to be part of this significant event. We look forward to its success and hope you will find it to be of benefit. n
DAVE is Oil Spill Response’s Operations Director and a Member of its Board. He will chair Wednesday’s session on Dispersants in the Endoumes Room. Contact: davesalt@oilspillresponse. com
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Response Partnerships Learn more about our collaborations with FOST and NOFO.
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Global Response Network See the GRN in action through our involvement with Alaska Clean Seas and in the MV Pacific Adventurer incident.
www.oilspillresponse.com
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Feature article
THE
GLOBAL INITIATIVE By ANDY NICOLL, Advocacy Manager
OPRC 90
Following
a series of diplomatic conferences the International Convention of Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC) 1990 was adopted. The Convention entered into force in 1995 and today 97 countries have ratified it, representing almost 70% of the world’s marine tonnage.
I
n the late 1980s to early 1990s a steady succession of major marine oil spill incidents with serious environmental impacts had become a source of international concern. It was apparent that the parties involved in responding to these spills were assuming combative rather than co-operative positions. To address this, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which has a mandate to assure safety and quality of the marine environment, began to investigate the establishment of a convention to codify the elements of oil spill preparedness.
governments and industry. This has now evolved into a select number of highly targeted initiatives, focused on identified regions bearing the greatest risk of spills. The current chairman of the Global Initiative for West and Central Africa (GI WACAF), William Lerch, summed up, “Back then the emphasis was about raising awareness to the key management issues of a coordinated response to a major spill. Building on this experience, today’s targeted activities can focus more closely on identified gaps in preparedness.”
international oil companies and with matching support from the Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme of the IMO.
The steady increase in the adoption of OPRC and the other pollution-related Conventions since the programme’s launch has been encouraging. Malamine Thiam, IMO’s Head of Technical CoThe elements of the Convention can be operation and Major Projects, oversees expressed in terms of key criteria that the contribution to GI WACAF. He points are required to implement an effective out that since 2006 the number of regime of preparedness and countries which had established response: a NOSCP had risen by almost "... since 2006 the number of countries which had 50%; that included almost all of >> A nominated competent the key oil producing nations in authority for each maritime established a NOSCP had risen by almost ..." the region. nation state
50%
>> >> >> >> >>
National A Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) A notification system at the national/ international level Access to appropriate response equipment A preparedness training and exercise regime Cooperative agreements with other regional states to share resources
To encourage adoption and implementation of the OPRC Convention, the industry established the Global Initiative (GI) programme through the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA) in collaboration with the IMO. The Global Initiative (GI) Programme This programme was launched in 1996, initially in the form of a series of regional workshops catering to representatives of
Whilst the composition of each regional GI project varies from region to region, the overall objective is common to all: to improve and sustain the capacity of developing nations to protect their marine and coastal resources at risk for an oil pollution incident through the full implementation of the OPRC Convention. The Global Initiative for West and Central Africa (GI WACAF) is one of the most active GI programmes and one with which Oil Spill Response has been closely associated. The Global Initiative for West and Central Africa (GI WACAF) Launched in 2006, the programme covers 21 countries from Mauritania to Namibia and is sponsored by eight
The recognition of Government focal points in 16 countries has also been a fundamental step in the process. Project Manager Philippe de Susanne said, “It’s really important that the drive to implement the OPRC Convention comes from within the nations themselves. Recognising, empowering and formally appointing focal points within each national administration helps to instil that sense of ownership of the project aims.” n
ANDY is Oil Spill Response’s Advocacy Manager and the co-author of the paper “Tiered Preparedness and Response” presented during Session 6.2. Contact: andynicoll@ oilspillresponse.com
Members’ Update As the global economy continues to impact the industry, oil companies are reviewing their drilling campaigns. However it is imperative to maintain a suitable level of preparedness as risks associated with oil are still prevalent.
Oil Spill Response continues to provide the widest range of preparedness and response solutions to its members. We are pleased to welcome six new Associate Members: CNOOC Africa, Engen, Galoc Production Company, Petrobras Libya, Plains Vietnam Ltd and PT Kawasan Industri Dumai. We also welcome the return of Challenger Minerals, EOG Resources, Kumungazy and Vanco, who have taken membership to support their exploration activities. An Integration Workshop is conducted for all our new members to ensure that they are promptly acquainted with the activation procedures, entitlements and services offered under membership and how to access these for maximum benefit. Oil Spill Response wishes to thank all its members for their continued support which enables us to provide a marketleading service. n Contact: rachelbayliss@oilspillresponse.com
AGREEMENT STRUCK WITH NOFO
Response Partnerships
On behalf of its shareholders, Oil Spill
Response actively seeks opportunities to play its part in developing the partnerships encouraged through the OPRC Convention. Be it through our support to the GI programme, developing an oil spill contingency plan, providing equipment, delivering training or playing our role in an exercise, opportunities arise to build partnerships between leading authorities and responding organisations. The prize is clear: stronger partnerships built in peacetime equate to better preparedness and, should the worst happen, a more effective response in terms of time and required resources. We highlight here some collaborative partnerships in France and Norway which exemplify the Interspill theme of ‘Working Together’.
NORWAY
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The GI-WACAF has been one of the most active GI programmes.
able to provide the best response for our members in Norway. Logistical aspects of the agreement will be tested through an exercise at a later date. n Contact: emmahughes@oilspillresponse.com
The agreement allows NOFO to act on behalf of their mutual members to access our dispersant capabilities including our Hercules, aerial dispersant system and dispersant stockpiles for use in Norwegian waters. To ensure the success of the agreement, airports of operation were identified, and permits obtained for operating the aircraft in Norwegian air space. The agreement emphasises Oil Spill Response’s dedication to developing stronger alliances with other industry co-operatives. This leads towards improvements in the use of resources and customer engagement. Its implementation ensures that we will be
Designated airports of operation in Norway, picture from Google Earth.
Exchanging expertise EUROPE
Fig 1. Status of OPRC ratification, March 2009.
Oil Spill Response is committed to enhancing the GRN; to that end we have concluded an agreement with the Norwegian Clean Seas Association for Operating Companies (NOFO). This is an association of operators on the Norwegian continental shelf which handles oil spills related to the exploration for and production of oil and gas.
TRAINING SECONDMENT
North Sea
FRANCE
Expanding aviation capability
Oil Spill Response was requested to support the Fast Oil Spill Team (a Tier 2 centre run by TOTAL in Rognac, France) in attaining accreditation from the Nautical Institute - a UK-based professional body for qualified seafarers - for their training programme which was to be delivered internally and externally to IMO standards. This was done through seconding one of our staff to FOST’s base. Our task involved creating five IMO training modules comprising 19 presentations and two practical sessions; the standard of these modules and the FOST facilities were then assessed by staff from the Nautical Institute.
Working together on the project enabled us to bolster our ties and experiences in the French oil spill industry and allowed both sides to develop their respective technical and language skills. Further to this, more work will be undertaken with FOST to develop their IMO training programme in France and Russia. n Contact: milescole@ oilspillresponse.com
www.oilspillresponse.com
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THE
GLOBAL RESPONSE NETWORK
T
he GRN was established in 2005 to formalise the long-standing relationship between Oil Spill Response Limited and Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC). Since its launch it has forged a meaningful collaboration with five other major oil industry funded spill response organisations. The GRN provides a framework of support for these response organisations to develop a broader alliance of benchmarking and knowledge sharing so as to provide increased effectiveness in oil spill preparedness and response. This page highlights some recent partnerships that will continue to serve us well in future. Contact: trishjohns@oilspillresponse.com
QUEENSLAND’S WORST EVER SPILL
MV Pacific Adventurer Incident response specialists - one each (NEBA) approach to the clean-up In March, this 185 metre-long container spill from Singapore and Southampton - to activities. Additionally we gave advice ship lost 31 containers in heavy seas about seven nautical miles east of Cape Moreton, Queensland. The fallen containers caused damage to the ship and resulted in the loss of heavy fuel oil.
offer technical support and assist the Australian National Response Team with the shoreline cleanup operations on Sunshine Coast and Moreton Island.
on a post-spill monitoring programme, planning beyond a staged withdrawal of clean-up activities on this part of the Sunshine Coast. n
Through contact from our GRN partner AMOSC, Oil Spill Response sent two
Our assistance involved close liaison with the local authorities to encourage a Net Environmental Benefit Analysis
Contact: mikeparker@oilspillresponse.com tansweehuang@oilspillresponse.com
Oiled vegetation on Sunshine Coast; in their unoiled state, these help to prevent erosion of the sand dunes.
Utilising an organised two-man team approach during the cleanup on Moreton Beach.
AUSTRALIA Moreton Island
LEARNING TO WORK IN EXTREME COLD
Alaska Clean Seas starting due to the cold, freezing As oil exploration moves into colder not hydraulic lines, dehydration and bears! environments, it is essential for Oil Spill Response to keep up with advancements in related technology and techniques and maintain our global response capability.
Working alongside ACS allowed our staff to assist in real spills in a safe controlled manner, thus gaining a better understanding of the working environment and the use of PPE, equipment and working systems especially Our close ties with several in such harsh locations. The response organisations spills ranged from a burst have enabled the growth Hannah’s experiences included of our capability through dealing with physical challenges hydraulic line on an ice road to a loading truck overflow secondments, attachments such as the extreme cold. in a refinery. and exercises. Alaska Clean Seas (ACS) is one such GRN The skills gained were invaluable for partner; it works within the Arctic Circle the development of our own Extreme on the Alaska North Slope where Weather Working Group which is charged temperatures can plunge below -50°C. with defining our capability as a global Tier 3 company in this environment. In March 2009 one of our staff had the Most importantly we have enhanced our opportunity to experience firsthand the working relationship and ties with our many challenges faced when working in GRN colleagues, boosting our response extreme cold. These include contending and preparedness capability globally. n with heavy and bulky PPE, equipment Contact: hannahcurd@oilspillresponse.com
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www.oilspillresponse.com
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