LR's Offshore Technical Committee held its annual meeting earlier this month at our London office, following meetings in previous years in South Korea, Brazil and Singapore.
The event focused on LR's Rules for Offshore Units which set appropriate standards for the design, construction and lifetime maintenance of floating offshore assets. It was attended by Committee members representing ENI, Shell Shipping Technology, BP Exploration Operating Company Ltd, Total, Statoil ASA, A.P. Møller – Maersk A/S, Babcock International Group, Heerema Marine Contractors, KBR, Technip FMC/EMIA, Bluewater Energy Services, Seadrill Management Limited, HHI, DSME, Houlder, Mitsui O.S.K., Bulk Shipping (Europe) Ltd, Noble Associates Inc, Ampelmann Operations, Singapore University, Marine Technical Limits and Marine Integrity Management Solutions Ltd.
Nick Brown, LR's marine and offshore director, said: "This is the second time Lloyd's Register has held the Offshore Technical Committee in London and we are delighted that so many of industry's key stakeholders are in attendance for the meeting."
Brown, who hosted the Committee’s welcome reception, discussed the major issues facing the oil and gas industry and highlighted industry’s challenge of reducing costs across the supply chain without downgrading safety or effectiveness. He reinforced the need for consistent operating standards across the world.
"I strongly believe that collaborating on an agreed approach to managing risk, assessed by highly knowledgeable independent third parties with close links to academia, fundamental science, business and well informed governments, provides the best risk mitigation in challenging and complex environments that are evolving quickly. Safety and new technology is at the heart of what we all do and this is our combined responsibility."
Richard Nott, Head of Offshore and Global Projects, explained the benefits of LR's collaborative approach to bringing industry operators together through the Offshore Technical Committee: "Over the past five years the Committee has travelled to Asia, South America and Europe, demonstrating our long term commitment to what is a global oil and gas industry that is constantly evolving."
"Consultation with industry on a globally recognised Rules set through our Offshore Technical Committee brings about improvements to an internationally recognised standard which better supports industry in their decision making on the way in which offshore assets should be designed, operated and maintained," added Nott.
Over recent years the Rules have been regularly updated to meet industry demands for the implementation of new and innovative technologies and approaches. During the event the Committee approved changes to the Rules, which included updates to sections on corrosion, pipe laying vessels, thrusters, moorings and turrets.
The 2017 revision of the Rules for Offshore Units (RoU) will be published in July. Find out more at www.lr.org/offshorerules