CEO INSIGHTS
ZAL RUSTOM
A M B I PAR R E S P O N S E This is a series of interviews with the CEOs of some of our industry companies, not to gather their own secrets but to gain insights into what they have learned during their career that may be useful to others, learn how technology is affecting their business and also to hear their thoughts on how their business is adapting as we move toward net zero.
MV Sea Empress
I caught up with Zal Rustom, CEO of
Zal ended up responsible for a large area of shoreline clean up. A large spill gave
Ambipar Response, for an interview
the opportunity to evolve solutions and
scheduled for 40 minutes but lasted well
experiment with different techniques;
over an hour. It was probably a good thing
Berm relocation was tried and seemed
that we were online as we share a love of
to work. Oil is easier to recover from the
wine and had it been over dinner the Rioja
water, so why not use an 360 excavator
bottles would have come and possibly gone
to lift shingle into the sea to let natural
resulting in sore heads in the morning! Zal is easy to talk to, approachable and happy to dig into his long career in the industry He joined it in the late 1980s, representing a small Texas based company that had developed a novel microbial product that helped to clean up the oil impacted areas around wells for a company called Javelin. It was directly aimed at upstream companies keen to improve their environmental management. It took him to many spill incidents exploring how the products could enhance bio-remediation. Indeed, the Texas General Land Office was very proactive to encourage innovation. One of Zal’s first major spills was viewed from a Bass fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico during the Megaborg spill spreading microbial product with a leaf blower
Exercise Horus, Egypt for Mobil (1996)
surf action remove the oil which can more
Brocklehurst who were working for the
‘washed’ pebbles were then driven back
BP Oil Spill Service Centre (OSSC) in
upshore by surf and tidal action. Whilst
Southampton. Here they were developing
at Milford Haven, Zal met and worked
a spill response capability for the oil
with Simon Rickaby of DV Howells and an
majors. Zal spent 1991 – 1995 contracting
association that lasted several decades
with his own and to the OSSC’s clients.
formed. This incident and its scale
It was a productive learning period with
left a strong impression on Zal and he
valuable contact to big oil. This gave him
learned that spill response has to work in
an understanding and thorough knowledge
conjunction with the existing environment
of the international oil industry and its
and not against it.
easily be recovered. It worked and the
progressive culture. It also enabled him to graduate from Coventry University in
With experience of major spills under his
Emergency Planning.
belt, his response business (Hi-Bar) was becoming well known and took him to the
In February 1996, MV Sea Empress
Far East supporting the Japanese Navy
grounded on mid-channel rocks at St
following the Nakhodka spill incident.
Ann’s Head, Milford Haven and over a week lost 72,000 tons of crude oil into the sea
Whilst at Milford Haven he and Simon
causing significant impact on the shoreline.
Rickaby started to develop clear ideas
Zal attended to support the response as all
on training and would often spend many
grounded him in the US ‘Big Oil’ culture.
resources was being called upon to assist.
lengthy dinner meetings mapping out the
He arrived at the Incident Management
syllabi for training courses and engaging
The first Gulf War in early 1991 changed the
Centre to be met by Chris Morris, who was
with the ‘new’ IMO model courses. When
responsible for Texaco. Zal knew him well
he returned to UK from Japan he picked
and asked about his two daughters who
this up and started running these through
were keen rowers. Chris’ reaction was; ‘ You
his own company, sub contracted to DV
haven’t come all this way to ask how my
Howells. It started to become obvious that
family are….!”
training and consultancy had a good future
into contaminated wetlands! Whilst the company eventually folded it taught Zal how the upstream business worked and
US market and so he returned to the UK armed with sufficient knowledge to work as a consultant marketing innovative products to the UK oil industry and attending many incidents. Here he met, and to a degree was mentored by, Dave Salt and Dave
for this relationship.
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