Past Event - CCUS Underwriting Risks
Speaker:
Dan Patterson - Head of Advisory and Transactions, XODUS Group
Presentation Synopsis:
Dan’s presentation will give a brief overview of what is meant by ‘CCUS’; how it’s development and grown is driven by the value society places on climate change and what growth in capacity is required in order to meet global emissions reductions.
The presentation will cover the different storage mechanisms, the differences between CCS and EOR, monitoring and verification, repurposing opportunties and the risks associated with these types of projects.
During the presentation Dan will outline Xodus’ extensive current and historic experience in this sector.
A full video and presentation copy will shortly be available on the members area of the OPERA website.
Past Event - Managing the risk of a large-scale construction project in a Major Accident Hazard Site
Speaker:
Goke Phillips, Construction Director, National Grid Grain LNG - Bio attached.
Presentation Synopsis:
CAP 25 is the latest expansion project at the Grain LNG importation terminal, necessitating extensive, large scale construction activity in an upper-tier COMAH site. The terminal’s rigorous safety management system has been central to controlling and mitigating the associated risks, with an approach built on ‘layers of protection’. Goke explains how the team has ensured safe delivery at each stage of the lifecycle of this complex project. From early design and contracts set up, through to the contractors engineering, procurement, construction, pre commissioning, commissioning and hand over to operations activities.
Date: Tuesday 21st May
Presentation and video from this event will shortly be available via the members area of the OPERA website.
Past Event - Hydrogen Turbines
Speaker:
Simon Batt - Hawkins and Associates - Bio attached.
Presentation Synopsis:
Simon’s presentation discusses “the possibilities and viability of hydrogen”.
It considers the risks when depending upon renewables as the primary resource for generating electrical power and the potential shortfall in capacity whenever the weather and seasons change.
Simon explains how today any shortfalls in renewable capacity are mitigated with the deployment of dispatchable generating capacity from gas turbines, and that this can continue to perform future demand by converting them to use carbon free or net zero fuels, specifically hydrogen.
However, hydrogen brings with it a number of challenges requiring the investment in establishing a viable supply chain and infrastructure for the manufacture of hydrogen, its transportation and distribution, as well as strategic storage in sufficiently large quantities to ensure there is available power at all times.
For the UK to be reliant upon renewable power as its primary source of power by 2050 it will be dependent upon establishing a hydrogen economy that is successful, commercially viable and safe. Simon’s presentation discusses some of the challenges, risks and mitigations, forming an overall view on the possible direction of a future hydrogen economy.
Presentation and video (TBC) from this meeting are now available on the OPERA Members area of the website.
Past Event - Well Control 101
Speaker:
David Cargill, General Adjuster - Lloyd Warwick International (Biography attached).
Presentation Synopsis:
This presentation will give a fast and furious review of the basics of well control from a practical perspective. From the inception of the oilwell by “spudding”, and the recognition of the parameters that create the “drilling window”. The need for casing strings and the importance of the cement job will be discussed. We will look at the industry requirement for performing formation strength tests after drilling out a casing shoe track, and what this information means. A brief discussion on the theory of kick tolerance and what that means in a practical sense, and how exceeding this may result in an underground blowout. At this point we will briefly discuss the indications of an UGBO, and the more reliable verification of the UGBO marking depths of interest for the well kill.
We will cover the circulating system for conventional land drilling, understanding the role of hydrostatic pressure, and the fateful consequences of suffering lost returns during the drilling campaign.
Having now identified the red flags that may emerge during the drilling process, we will discuss the drilling crew’s responsibilities to identify these red flags and the actions they take to efficiently shut the well in, thus preventing the kick from becoming a blowout. We will take a closer look at the equipment made available to the drilling crew to achieve this goal and look forward to the future of the blowout preventer and how it continues to make the oil and gas industry a safer place to work.
The consequence of inaction will be discussed in some level of detail, before moving on to a brief explanation of the remediation of the well blowout.
Date: Tuesday 12th March
THIS PRESENTATION AND MEETING VIDEO IS NOW AVAILABLE ON THE OPERA MEMBERS AREA FOR CURRENT MEMBERS ONLY
OPERA AGM - Chairman and Treasurer Reports 2023-4
Please find below copies of the OPERA 2023-4 Chairman and Treasurer Reports which are available to download.
PAST EVENT - Floating Offshore Wind Turbines
Speaker: David Watson, Canopius
Synopsis: Although demonstrators and development concepts of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWT) are not new commercial floating wind farms are, with three currently operating in the North Sea. Two are spar designs and one is a semi-submersible. The current wind farms are on a very modest scale and none have been trouble free, which is to be expected for such new developments.
Floating wind farms are expected to grow considerably in number and size as space in coastal and shallow waters is used. Assuming this is the case the practicalities of such very large and distant wind farms are examined with such considerations as their unique movement and loads, mooring reliability and congestion, dynamic cable reliability, improving the possibility of performing offshore maintenance (rather than towing to shore), export cable reliability and the features of floating substation all being discussed.
General concepts of floating offshore wind farms have been well discussed for some years. This presentation intends to discuss more of the detailed considerations which will be required at scale.
Date: Thursday 18th January 2024
A copy of this presentation and associated video recording is now available on the OPERA Members area of the website.
OPERA Christmas Social - Join Us!
No booking required - we look forward to seeing you there!
PAST EVENT - OPERA Annual Seminar 2023 - Energy Transition
All presentations are now available on the OPERA Members Area of the website for registered OPERA Members to view.
OPERA Summer Social - Join Us!
FREE EVENT - All Energy brokers / underwriters welcome - booking not required!
DATE: Thursday 13th July
TIME: 1PM - 5PM
VENUE: The Oyster Shed - 1 Angel Lane, London, EC4R 3AB
Free buffet and limited free bar!
NO BOOKING REQUIRED - ALL OPERA MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES WELCOME!
We hope to see you all there!
OPERA
OPERA Online/Hybrid Presentation - PRESENTATION CHANGE - NEW PRESENTATION ON 'The Hazards of Transient Operations'
IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ:
Unfortunately due to reasons beyond our control our presenter has had to postpone the upcoming 'Digital Twins' presentation scheduled until a later date.
Instead in it's place we will be hosting a presentation titled 'The Hazards of Transient Operations' presented by the OPERA Chairman and Engineering and Construction team head at SWISS RE - Ian Clarke.
If you are already signed up for the previous topic and still wish to attend you do not need to do anything - your registration will still be valid. All other previous details i.e time/venue etc remain the same.
Should the topic change mean that you no longer wish to attend please let me know so that I can amend the attendee lists.
Apologies for any inconvenience and please find the full details below - Thanks, Ian - OPERA Administrator
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The Hazards of Transient Operations
IN PERSON SPACES TO ATTEND FOR FULL OPERA MEMBERS AND ALSO AVAILABLE TO ATTEND VIRTUALLY ONLINE - Invite link will be sent to all registered attendees nearer to the time of the presentation itself after bookings have closed.
Speaker: Ian Clarke, OPERA Chairman and Head of Engineering and Construction, SWISS RE
Bio: Ian is currently head of the engineering and construction risk engineering team at Swiss Re, but has spent most of his almost 30 years in insurance in the downstream oil, gas and petrochemical sector. His industrial experience included drilling for oil and gas in the Australian desert, trying to make oil out of low grade Australian brown coal, and working in a technical safety capacity at one of Melbourne's most diverse petrochemical facilities before joining the insurance industry. He is a Chartered Chemical Engineer and a registered Professional Process Safety Engineer with the Institution of Chemical Engineers and also the current Chairman of OPERA.
Presentation Synopsis: Most people would be familiar with the document on losses from the oil, gas and petrochemicals industry published back in 2016, which is currently under review. Statistics from this analysis show that the vast majority of operations related failures occur during transient operations, be it abnormal, unusual, non-routine or infrequent activities. We will evaluate just three systematic loss prevention activities, PHA/HAZOP, operator competency and safety critical task analysis, and show, using several loss examples, how deficiencies in these lead to major losses. Deficiencies that we see all too frequently during site visits.
Date: Tuesday 13th June
Time: 1PM
Attending:
IN PERSON - 12:15PM in person arrival - lunch and pre-meeting networking. If booking in person please ensure you let us know if you cannot make the event for catering reasons.
ONLINE - Presentation to commence at 1PM.
Physical venue (booked attendees only please): Lockton, The St Botolph Building, 138 Houndsditch,
London, EC3A 7AG
PRE REGISTRATION AND PHOTO ID WILL BE REQUIRED FOR ADMISSION.
TO BE HELD ONLINE OR LIMITED IN PERSON SPACES TO ATTEND ARE AVAILABLE - please ensure you select the correct option when booking.
Booking -
Members (CAN BOOK ONLINE OR IN PERSON) - should book via Webcollect as usual via this link - an invite link with further details will then be sent at a later date if attending online - or you will be registered as an in person attendee if booked to attend the venue on the day. Please ensure you select either ONLINE or IN PERSON booking dependent on which you require - Only full OPERA members with a current paid subscription will be able to attend events in-person.
Non Members (ONLINE ONLY) - Any non-members wishing to attend should email ianw_g@oilpera.com providing their name, job title, organisation and the seminar they wish to attend so that details can be sent through accordingly.
IMPORTANT - Please note that any non-members who wish to book in this way will also have to provide the name of a current OPERA member - who will then be notified to guarantee their booking - the booking will not be accepted if this information is not provided as this is for security purposes.
Non-member guests are welcome - however will be asked to purchase an OPERA subscription after more than 2 events have been attended as a guest.
Booking deadline: Monday 12th June at 5PM.
BOOKINGS NOW OPEN - OPERA - Catalysts and losses: risk and opportunities
IN PERSON SPACES TO ATTEND FOR FULL OPERA MEMBERS AND ALSO AVAILABLE TO ATTEND VIRTUALLY ONLINE - Invite link will be sent to all registered attendees nearer to the time of the presentation itself after bookings have closed.
Speakers: Andrea Di Lena and Hugh Kennaway, Matthews Daniel (Speaker Bio's attached)
Synopsis: Drawing from their practical experiences Andrea and Hugh from MatthewsDaniel will talk about catalysts in the context of losses. They will touch on the challenges associated with the proof of loss and the insurance policy’s response. The presentation will then elaborate on the process, risks and opportunity of recovering precious metals from damaged catalysts.
Date: Tuesday 18th April
Time: 1PM (Online) or 12:30PM (in person).
IN PERSON - 12:30PM in person arrival - lunch and pre-meeting networking.
ONLINE - Presentation to commence at 1PM.
Physical venue (booked attendees only please): Liberty Reception, Floor 21, 40 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 3AW
PRE REGISTRATION AND PHOTO ID WILL BE REQUIRED FOR ADMISSION.
TO BE HELD ONLINE VIA MICROSOFT TEAMS SOFTWARE OR LIMITED IN PERSON SPACES TO ATTEND ARE AVAILABLE - please ensure you select the correct option when booking.
Booking -
Members (CAN BOOK ONLINE OR IN PERSON) - should book via Webcollect as usual via this link - a Microsoft Teams invite link with further details will then be sent at a later date if attending online - or you will be registered as an in person attendee if booked to attend the venue on the day. Please ensure you select either ONLINE or IN PERSON booking dependent on which you require - Only full OPERA members with a current paid subscription will be able to attend events in-person.
Non Members (ONLINE ONLY) - Any non-members wishing to attend should email ianw_g@oilpera.com providing their name, job title, organisation and the seminar they wish to attend so that details can be sent through accordingly.
IMPORTANT - Please note that any non-members who wish to book in this way will also have to provide the name of a current OPERA member - who will then be notified to guarantee their booking - the booking will not be accepted if this information is not provided as this is for security purposes.
Non-member guests are welcome - however will be asked to purchase an OPERA subscription after more than 2 events have been attended as a guest.
Booking deadline: Wednesday 12th April at 5PM.
Past Event - Market volatility and inflation – impact on downstream assets
Speaker: Jean Martin
Date: Tuesday 14th March
A copy of this presentation and associated video recording will be made available on the OPERA Members area of the website in due course.
Past Event - OPERA AGM and Presentation - Renewables - Hazards and Risks of the Energy Transition
Speaker: Roger Stokes, Baker Risk
Date: Thursday 19th January
Slides and video recording from this seminar are available from the Members area of the OPERA website to current OPERA members only.
Past Event - It all adds up…the impact of cumulative changes on safety and production
Speaker: Trish Kerin - Director, Institution of Chemical Engineers Safety Centre (ISC)
Date: Tuesday 8th November
THIS PRESENTATION AND MEETING VIDEO IS NOW AVAILABLE ON THE OPERA MEMBERS AREA FOR CURRENT MEMBERS ONLY
Past Event - OPERA Online/Hybrid Presentation - Learning from Natech events and the next steps in risk management - Zsuzsanna Gyenes
Speaker:
Zsuzsanna Gyenes
Presentation Synopsis:
Natural hazards, such as floods, earthquakes, and extreme temperatures are still prone to trigger technological accidents. For example, lightning has caused fires in different parts of the world in the past few weeks at oil terminals. These so-called Natech events (natural hazards triggering technological disasters) need further attention to be able to prepare for and prevent future cases from occurring. Operators of hazardous assets need to be aware of the possible tools to manage risks arising from Natechs. This presentation will demonstrate the potential effects of Natech events via past case studies and discussions about risk management.
Presentation and video from this meeting are now available on the OPERA Members area of the website.
Past Event - Ammonium Nitrate Safety in Industrial Operations
TO BE HELD ONLINE VIA ZOOM WITH LIMITED IN PERSON SPACES TO ATTEND FOR FULL OPERA MEMBERS - Online invite link will be sent to all registered attendees nearer to the time of the presentation itself after bookings have closed.
Speaker:
Kish Shah
Presentation Synopsis:
The presentation will give a historical perspective of the developments of uses for ammonium nitrate (AN) and will describe the main range of AN-based products produced, with a brief outline of the manufacturing processes. The main potential hazards of these products will be described with illustrations. Various methods and means employed in the industry for controlling these hazards will be presented. A selection of past accidents with interesting features will be reviewed. We will look into a review of the safety performance of the industry and the challenges facing the industry. Main recommendations concerning safety provision will be summarised.
FULL PRESENTATION AND VIDEO AVAILABLE TO OPERA MEMBERS VIA THE MEMBERS AREA OF THE OPERA WEBSITE
Past Event - OPERA Summer Social - Open to both members and non-members
OPERA Summer Social - Afternoon Cruise on the Golden Sunrise - boarding at 12:45pm with 1pm departure on Thursday 14th July
Thanks to everyone who attended!
Past Presentation - Experiences with HAZOP/PHA/PHR Revalidation and remote studies
Speaker:
Graham Laughland - ABB
Presentation Synopsis:
Graeme Laughland, Principal Process Safety Consultant, ABB will reflect on > 30 years of experience on the practical application of HAZOP/PHA/PHR re-validation including techniques described in the Delta HAZOP methodology as recently published by the IChemE.
The opportunities and challenges of conducting remote hazard studies versus face to face meetings will also be discussed.
Full slides and a video recording of this seminar is available to OPERA members via the Members area of the OPERA website.
Past Presentation - National Cultures, and How They Influence Approaches to Industrial Safety and Loss Prevention
Speakers:
Egbert Schram – CEO - Hofstede Insights and Trevor Hughes – Hughes Consultancy and Research
Presentation Synopsis:
Trevor Hughes will introduce Hofstede’s work. He will recount a number of humorous experiences in different countries which point to distinct national cultures. Egbert Schram of Hofstede Insights will further describe Hofstede’s work and how its findings influence safety culture, using example country comparisons over six dimensions of national culture. Finally, we will pose the question as to whether national cultures should influence risk engineering and loss prevention approaches in different countries.
• Do we accept deep seated differences between national cultures, and that these be assessed factually, without being accused of bias and stereotyping? If so…
• Should we be using the same “toolkit” in loss prevention consultancy and risk engineering? Same agenda, same line of questioning, similar recommendations.
• Does ‘good’ risk quality potentially look different according to the local culture?
Presentation and video are available to current OPERA members via the members area of the OPERA website.
Past Presentation - Large Vapour Cloud Explosions: What do we know?
Speaker:
Graham Atkinson - Health and Safety Executive
Presentation Synopsis:
Graham Atkinson of the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Laboratory will be reviewing learnings from work on a variety of large vapour cloud explosions. He will discuss some major events and what these have in common. The presentation will cover aspects such as observed damage patterns, the importance of meteorological conditions and the role of congestion.
Speaker Bio:
Graham Atkinson has a degree and doctorate in physics from Cambridge University and has worked for HSE since 1989. He has regularly carried out investigations at the scene of fatal or unusual fires and explosions. The majority of these incidents have been in factories, chemical sites or warehouses. Graham has also led numerous research projects on a wide range of industrial fire and explosion problems.
Presentation and video are available to current OPERA members via the members area of the OPERA website.