Netherlands Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association

NEWSLETTER
IN THIS EDITION
NOGEPAs Natural Gas
Symposium 2012

Onshore OCES

OCES 2012

NOREX 2012

Aardgas Update

EU Regulation versus a
Directive on offshore safety

Farewell Peter Knobbe

New staff member for

Employment & Education

Xth NOGEPA-appointed Doctors

Meeting

Well Academy

32nd Joint Offshore

Doctors Conference

Winners of the student design

contest Hit & Run Go Offshore!

Farewell Bram van Mannekes - 10 May 2012

On 10 May 2012, a
farewell party was held
for Bram van Mannekes,
who had held the post
of Secretary-General of
NOGEPA since April 2005.
At the age of 66, Bram
decided to take retirement
to spend more time on his
family and hobbies.

NOGEPA, the Netherlands

Oil and Gas Exploration and
Production Association
Bezuidenhoutseweg 27-29
P.O. Box 11729
2502 AS The Hague
Phone: +31 70 3478871
Fax: +31 70 385123
E-mail: info@nogepa.nl

In a personal address, NOGEPA Chairman

Ruud Zoon highlighted the qualities that
Bram possessed in his role as SecretaryGeneral of NOGEPA. Ruud thanked Bram for
his hard work, with a special word of thanks
for the professional way he concluded the
many issues that were covered during his
period in office. In particular, he reflected
on the start of an active dialogue on the
report by CPB, the Netherlands Bureau for
Economic Policy Analysis, pleading for an
improved mining climate for marginal fields
and seeking outside expertise to challenge
the conclusions of the CPB report, which
questioned whether stimulating measures
for marginal fields were necessary and
cautioned against for free riders.
Bram also started working on an information
package for the E&P industry to be used as
input for the election programmes of political
parties for the 2007 elections. He organised
efforts to support the maintenance of the
marginal fields policy during the split-up of
Gasunie into Transport Service and Trade &

Supply, and worked with the state authorities

to meet the Rescue-at-Sea requirements
tabled by the State Supervision of Mines,
resulting in the provision of a temporary
industry SAR helicopter which would fill the
gap until the arrival of the NH90 helicopter
in 2008.
The Inspector-General of Mines from the
State Supervision of Mines, Jan de Jong,
spoke of his admiration for the way Bram
managed to garner attention for the E&P
industry and to build a NOGEPA which was
able to meet the challenges of the time,
resulting in more intensive interactions with
the authorities and other stakeholders.
The reception held at De Witte beach
pavilion in Scheveningen attracted a great
many representatives from the industry
and beyond to shake Brams hand and to
thank him for the fruitful partnerships, but
most of all to wish him a happy and healthy
future together with his wife, children and
grandchildren.

Netherlands Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association

NEWSLETTER

NOGEPAs Natural Gas

Symposium 2012

J U LY

2012

Jelto Terpstra

Public acceptance of
energy innovation

The importance of natural gas in an increasingly sustainable energy mix the current state of
affairs on planned and expected industrial developments.

Public acceptance of
new technologies.

This years event will take place on 12 September 2012 at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague
The programme of NOGEPAs Natural Gas Symposium 2012:
Morning:
Keynote speech: Gertjan Lankhorst - Gasterra
o E&P NL - the importance of the marginal fields policy
o Natural gas in the transition to sustainability
o Ambition
o Opportunities
Mark Dierikx - Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture & Innovation
o Key developments in the Dutch E&P industry
o Public acceptance of new developments
o Role of the state
Linda Steg environmental psychologist (University of Groningen): social relevance
o Industrial developments versus social interests
o Political and social discussions
o Importance of an open and honest dialogue with stakeholders
o Creating public acceptance
Ron Wit Natuur & Milieu
o The ambition of Natuur & Milieu
o Industrial interests and public disquiet
o Options and non-options when dealing with local residents
o Influence of public opinion
LUNCH
Afternoon:

Debate and conclusions

Closure of the formal programme by NOGEPAs Chair, followed by drinks.

Please mark the date in your diary now. Invitations for the event will be sent out in late July.

Netherlands Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association

Onshore OCES

NEWSLETTER

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2012

Cees van Oosterom

A milestone was reached in June with

the signing of the first ever Onshore Joint
Declaration and Emergency Assistance
Code, which was concluded between
WEG (Wirtschaftsverband Erdl- und
Erdgasgewinnung - the German E&P industry
association) in Germany and NOGEPA The
OCES (Operators Cooperative Emergency
Services) agreement establishes a set of
principles for mutual aid in the event of
an emergency situation in the oil and gas
exploration and production industry. The
Macondo incident in the Gulf of Mexico
emphasised the importance of being well
prepared for an emergency irrespective of
the good track record of our industry in
Northwest Europe.

An offshore OCES has already existed for

offshore Northwest Europe since 1979.
The Macondo incident triggered a revision
of the offshore OCES arrangements, and
this was concluded in December 2011.
Work then started on establishing onshore
OCES arrangements. There was a good and
constructive exchange of comments on the
draft version between WEG and NOGEPA,
resulting in a finalisation of the mutual
arrangements between Germany and the
Netherlands in June.
With the onshore OCES agreement now in
place, other countries in Western Europe are
also welcome to apply to join the onshore
OCES agreement.

Signing by Jo Peters (NOGEPA) of the OCES

agreement between WEG and NOGEPA

OCES 2012
Earlier this year, we
announced that the
national oil industry
associations in
the North Sea had
agreed on new OCES
(Operators Cooperative
Emergency Services)
arrangements.

Gert-Jan Windhorst

At the time an OCES agreement is invoked,

a lot of questions need to be answered in
a short space of time. To prepare for this
eventuality, an OCES exercise was held by OLF
members in Stavanger on 22 May.
The emergency code (revised in December
2011) contained within the OCES agreement
established principles and practices under
which emergency assistance is given, received
and paid for. The exercise is designed to
provide an illustration of how the process
would work in practice.

To test the working of the agreement,

participants were split into six groups. The
facilitator then briefed them on the scenario
and background. The actual situation was
explained and questions provided on subjects
to be considered in the separate groups.
The facilitator led the discussion based on
the questions from the plenary session. The
session was concluded in a facilitated debrief.
OFFB, the Norwegian Operators Emergency
Association, will provide a report of the
exercise to OLF, the Norwegian Oil Industry
Association.

The OCES agreement provides a framework

within which resources (vessels, rigs, etc.)
can be transferred between operators in
an emergency situation, and applies across
international boundaries as well as within
them.

Parties involved were:

1. Requester - NORECO
2. Provider - Centrica
3. National authorities - PSA, KLIF, NCA
4. NOIA - OLF, Oil & Gas UK, NOGEPA
5. Oil spill response - NOFO, OSRL
The preliminary conclusion is that it was a
worthwhile exercise. Questions emerged
during the actual exercise which were more
difficult to answer than had been expected.
A final report is expected in mid summer and
will be circulated to all relevant parties. In
the meantime, it is advised to include OCES
elements in a Dutch LivEx exercise.

Netherlands Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association

NOREX 2012
On the morning of Monday 11 June at 07.00
hours, an alarm call from offshore was made
to NAM Central Control Room in Den Helder.
There was a problem with a well which was
being drilled on an offshore platform. This
was the start of a large offshore emergency
exercise involving NAM, the Dutch
Coastguard, Rijkswaterstaat North Sea and
the RBN Regional Management Team
North Sea Calamities. The exercise took the
entire day and was played out in real time.
To date, we have never had to deal with a
large emergency in the oil and gas producing
industry. The chance that we would have to
face a large incident is very small, yet as an
industry we have an obligation together with
the Dutch authorities to deal in a professional
manner with any emergency that may occur.
For this reason, we organised an exercise
which included a number of live parts.
Each of the participating organisations
already has their own emergency plans. It
was clear from the outset that we would
need to clearly define which organisation
was responsible for what. So we prepared a
matrix using the RACI principle to help define
the responsibilities. R stands for Responsible
and refers to the problem owner. A stands for
Accountable and refers to the organisation
which has the final decision or veto right.
C stands for Consult, referring to those who
should be consulted before a decision is
made. Finally, I stands for those who must
be Informed once a decision has been made.
The RACI matrix did help considerably in
preparing and executing the exercise.
The Macondo incident in the Gulf of Mexico
had a large impact on the contents of
the exercise. For this reason, the exercise
involved problems with a well which

NEWSLETTER

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2012

Cees van Oosterom

developed into the loss of containment of

the well. Wild Well Control was pulled in as
advisor, first to work with NAM on developing
plans of attack to cap the well and to drill a
relief well. Both techniques serve to bring
the well back under control. On Monday 18
June, a workshop was organised where the
drilling staff of NAM and Wild Well Control
considered what is involved in trying to cap
a well from the top, as well as what it takes
to drill a relief well which intercepts an outof-control well in the reservoir. Once this
has been accomplished, heavy fluids can be
pumped down the relief well into the well
which is no longer under control, eventually
killing it.
This large emergency exercise also served
as a training event for the Dutch oil and gas
producing industry. NAM kindly opened its
doors during the emergency exercise for
observers from the other Dutch oil and gas
producers and again for the workshop. The
exercise proved to be very valuable for the
industry in ensuring it is better prepared to
handle large emergencies.
The exercise was a success. Teams from
the authorities and from NAM handled
the exercise in a professional manner and
valuable lessons were learned. The exercise
report will be shared with the parties
participating in the exercise as well as with
other Dutch oil and gas producers.
Once again it was shown that conducting
emergency exercises does pay off. We thank
the Dutch Authorities; Ministry of EL&I
-State Supervision of Mines, the Ministry
of I&M Rijkswaterstaat North Sea and the
Dutch Coastguard and NAM for hosting the
exercise.

Netherlands Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association

Aardgas Update
This edition is entirely dedicated to the LiveEx.
In the wake of the Macondo disaster in the Gulf
of Mexico, the Dutch E&P operators and the
state authorities decided to hold a large-scale
exercise. Apart from lead player NAM, the
exercise also involved the Dutch Coastguard
and the state authorities.
Once 11 June came, no holds were barred
in the testing of the emergency procedures
available to deal with any emergency that
might occur in the Dutch sector of the North
Sea. The scenario involved an emergency

EU Regulation versus a
Directive on offshore safety
To support the EU NOIAs position with
respect to the discussion of the proposed
EU Regulation versus a Directive on offshore
safety, Nogepas position was presented at
an Oil & Gas UK seminar on the subject on 10
May in Aberdeen.
Gert-Jan Windhorst, responsible for Health
& Safety within NOGEPA, made very clear
that substantive improvements in safety
have been on the agenda of NOGEPAs
members since the organisations
foundation over 40 years ago.
Learning from incidents and adapting
guidelines and standards has been
standard practice from the outset.

NEWSLETTER

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2012

Jelto Terpstra

incident on the K7 platform. The disaster

simulation was designed to be as life-like as
possible. As with most disasters, it included an
escalation of events that was difficult to stop.
The involvement of the news media was also
simulated.
See www.aardgas-update.nl for a full report
of the exercise. This edition also includes
interviews with various parties, including
NAM, the Coastguard, NOGEPA and the State
Supervision of Mines.

Gert-Jan Windhorst

The proposed Regulation adds some processes

which, prior to the proposals by the EU, had
already been agreed upon by the Dutch
industry and the State Supervision of Mines
(SSM) in the wake of the Macondo incident.
These proposals could equally be included in a
Directive, although it must be noted that none
of these would have prevented the Macondo
incident.
The preferred option for the Dutch industry
is for a Directive, because in a mature
exploration area like the Dutch continental
shelf, tailor-made solutions will allow more
economically viable prospects, without
jeopardising or compromising safety standards
or environmental tolerance levels.
In a constructive dialogue with SSM,
NOGEPA continues to work on proper
legal arrangements that help avoid excess
bureaucracy.

Netherlands Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association

Farewell Peter Knobbe

On 11 May, it was time to say farewell to
Peter Knobbe. Peter has coordinated the
safety training audits as presented in the
NOGEPA Training Handbook since as far
back as 1998. At the start, 10 audits a year
were conducted, later growing to 12 audits
per year. The training institutes offering
NOGEPA courses provided Peter with their
course calendars. In consultation with
NOGEPAs Safety Training Workgroup, Peter
then selected which training courses were
to be audited. Peter managed to secure one
of the members of the NOGEPA Health &
Safety Committee and Kees Vellekoop
from the State Supervision of Mines
to participate in the audit. A detailed
report of the audit was prepared, and
training institutes had two to three
weeks to react to the findings set out
in the audit report.
Throughout the years, Peter built-up
a solid reputation. For instance, he
would go the extra mile by offering
advice to the fire extinguishing

New staff member for

Employment & Education
As from May 2012,
Chris Wijsman will
be working for
NOGEPA and IRO
as Employment
& Education
coordinator.

I graduated from HTS Den Haag with a BSc in

Information Technology and went on to enjoy
a 33-year long career working for Shell, firstly
as a Scientific Programmer in the Exploration
& Production laboratory in Rijswijk and later
on postings to operating units in Brunei (NW
Borneo) and Hannover, Germany.
As an Exploration Geophysicist, I worked on
a wide variety of projects to explore for oil
and gas, even managing to find a gas field
in the German sector of the North Sea. Back
in the Netherlands, I worked as Regional HR
Manager for Research Geoscientists, and
my last job was at Shells Learning Centre
in Rijswijk where I was responsible for a
course that introduces new graduates to the
exploration and production business as well
as for a business course for young managers.
I enjoyed my time at Shell very much,
especially my last job, since I could combine
my technical knowledge and experience with

NEWSLETTER

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2012

Cees van Oosterom

instructor on how to instil practical skills

in his student, and he would comment
on the learning materials and the way the
classroom knowledge was presented. He
earned a great deal of respect from the
training institutes because of this approach.
Peter was also a valuable source for questions
about the contents of training courses and
a valued contributor to the revisions of the
NOGEPA Training Handbook.
Having reached the ripe age of 75, Peter
felt it was now time to retire. His farewell
reception was held at the Loosdrecht
lakes, the reason being that Peter is also an
enthusiastic sailor. Accordingly, his farewell
included a trip across the lakes in sloops.
This was greatly appreciated by Peter and
representatives of the Dutch authorities,
training institutes and NOGEPAs Training
Evaluation Workgroup.
We wish Peter a happy and well-deserved
retirement.

Chris Wijsman

my passion for learning. I am therefore very

pleased with my new role, where I hope to
build on my past experiences.
In my new role at IRO and NOGEPA, the
ultimate goal will be to attract more qualified
and motivated employees to the oil and gas
industry. In order to achieve this, I will work on
improving the image of the oil and gas industry
as a whole and look at ways to improve the
education and training options available for
careers in our industry. Active involvement
of members will be required to provide input
into the whole process. I hope to meet many
of you in the near future and jointly discover
how we can make improvements to benefit
the needs of the industry, the training centres
and potential new employees.
Please contact me if you have any questions,
suggestions or information in the area of
education and training.

Netherlands Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association

NEWSLETTER

Xth NOGEPA-appointed Doctors Meeting

J U LY

2012

Cees van Oosterom

Utrecht, Following the end of the State Supervision of guidance on limited options to work offshore
14 June 2012 Mines responsibility for maintaining a list of while taking anticoagulant medicines.
approved offshore doctors in 2002, Nogepa
took up responsibility for managing the list,
but also introduced an annual training day for
approved doctors.

On 14 June, some 140 doctors gathered at the

Vechthuis in Utrecht for their 10th Nogepa
Schooling Event. The meeting was hosted by
Nogepas medical adviser, Dr. Kees Tuinman.
Speakers included Gert-Jan Windhorst who
talked about developments at Nogepa and
provided some news on HSE matters. Dr. Kees
Tuinman addressed issues such as the newly
proposed obesity guidelines , and proposed

Other topics discussed the regular audits

of Nogepas doctors facilities. Dr. F. Storms,
an invited speaker from the Anthonius
Hospital in Utrecht and diabetologist at the
Diabetes Centre in Overvecht and medical
adviser of the Dutch Diabetes Association,
highlighted the issues faced by diabetics
working offshore. Dr. Paul Kooijman of KLM
Medical Services/Airport Medical Services
Schiphol discussed the lessons learned from
all medical evacuations performed in 2011.
Good use was made of the opportunities to
ask questions, and colleagues were happy
to debate and exchange their experiences.
Nogepas new DVD A Matter of Energy was
highly appreciated and will be sent to any
attendees who would like to receive a copy.
The meeting was very successful, and an
invited speaker to talk about a medical topic
will be a fixed item on future programmes.

Well Academy
In response to the needs of the oil and gas
industry, a new training institute specialising
in well control training has been established
in Apeldoorn. Founded by oil and gas industry
professionals with a passion for improving
HSE performance and raising the competence
levels of drilling and well services personnel,
the Well Academy continues to develop
scenario-based well control training.
The Well Academy, the first facility of its kind
in the Netherlands outside Shell, uses a stateof-the-art rig floor simulator which can be
programmed with a wide variety of well control
scenarios and drilling problems. This enables
the Well Academy to provide the drilling and
well services industry with well control training

Cees van Oosterom

solutions which are aimed at increasing both

the competence levels and confidence of
drilling and well service personnel.
To create a realistic environment where teams
can practice, the Well Academy has built a
simulator room at their facility in Apeldoorn.
At its heart is a DrillSIM-5000 Classic full-size
rig floor simulator, which will enable rig teams
to be put through their paces while trying to
deal with well control situations or drillingrelated problems. An adjoining observation
room will enable a trained assessor to observe
the exercise and provide valuable feedback to
the individuals on both technical and nontechnical skills.
The Well Academy is committed to taking
onboard the lessons learned from Macondo
and will continue to work closely with
NOGEPA, IWCF, IADC and IRO in developing
scenario-based well control training.
More information about the training provided
by the Well Academy can be found at
www.thewellacademy.com .
7

Netherlands Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association

32nd Joint Offshore

Doctors Conference

NEWSLETTER

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2012

Cees van Oosterom

Rotterdam, This annual International Offshore Doctors campaigns offshore and Dr. M. Wondergem,
6-7-8 June 2012 meeting with 30 medical representatives VU University Amsterdam, who spoke about
from NOGEPA, OLF Norway, Oil & Gas UK,
Energy Institute London, as well as from
Germany, Denmark and Belgium was hosted
by NOGEPA on board the SS Rotterdam,
moored in the Port of Rotterdam.

anticoagulants and offshore work.

Lars Petersen, Medical Director at

International SOS, highlighted the challenges
of remote healthcare in extreme, inhospitable
environments. Finally, Dr. R. de Valk and J.
van der Wal from Shell Health Organisation
introduced an ongoing Healthy Ageing
and Safety project by NAM and Groningen
University (UMCG).
On 8 June, the national delegations met
to discuss common medical topics such as
obesity, working while taking anticoagulant
medicines or medications for diabetes. The
main aim of the meetings are to create a
common platform for our national health
policies and guidelines.

At the symposium on 7 June, a number

of invited speakers addressed the issue
of Healthy Ageing Offshore. The topic
was selected in the light of the imminent
increase in the retirement age and related
medical issues that come with age.

The conference and meetings were well

received and appreciated.

Jo Peters on behalf of NOGEPA welcomed

and addressed the attendees. Other
speakers were Prof. Van Rhenen from
Business
University
Nyenrode
on
Engagement, Ms K. Beersen, a nutritionist
from Enerjoy who spoke about healthy food

Netherlands Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association

Winners of the student design

contest Hit & Run Go Offshore!
Offshore visit
to P11-B De Ruyter
of Dana Petroleum

Tuesday 8 May 2012 had been a day to look

forward to for a long time. The day we were to
go offshore! It was the prize we had won in the
student design contest organised by IRO and
NOGEPA for IROs 40th anniversary in November
last year. I can still clearly remember the day of
its launch and the kick-off meeting held at the
STC in Rotterdam. Me and my fellow group
members looked at each other and thought,
We must win this competition!
The morning in question, I had to get up early
and travel to Den Helder Airport, where my
fellow students had already arrived. Not much
later we were accompanied by Joris Fris and
Hein Hogenhuis of Dana Petroleum. Once we
had checked in at CHC Helicopters and had
gone through customs, we watched the safety
instruction film and instructions on how to put
on the survival suits. It seemed like a piece of
cake, I thought, but after much struggling and
twisting, I was finally in my survival suit, only
to realise that my boarding pass was still in my
pocket. So I had to take off the suit and repeat
the whole exercise right from square one again.
On the way to the platform, we had the
helicopter to ourselves which made it feel
really special! Just before departure, we took
a quick photo of the whole group. Once in the
helicopter, it all became very real and everyone
suddenly realised that we were practically on
our way. I scanned everyones faces just before
take-off, and everyone was wearing a smile
from ear to ear.
After almost 30 minutes of flying, we arrived at
the De Ruyter platform, but just before landing
we circled around a little to take some pictures.
Immediately following our landing, we took off

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Lennard Oudenaller

our survival suits. While enjoying a fresh cup of

coffee, we watched and discussed the safety
instructions of the platform. After that, there
was no time to lose: we only had one day to
view the platform from top to bottom. First item
on the programme was a visit to the Offshore
Installation Manager (OIM) of the platform. We
introduced ourselves and told him about our
studies (NHL minor in Oil & Gas). The OIM then
gave us more information about the platform
specifically and about Dana Petroleum in
general. After we put on our personal protective
equipment, we were given an interesting tour
where all systems onboard the platform were
demonstrated and discussed.
At the end of the morning, it was time for lunch,
so we moved on to the mess room for a good
meal. Here we were also told that during the
afternoon programme we could indicate the
things we would like to see and know more
about. For example, we paid a visit to the crane,
but also to the lowest deck of the platform and
even the DIY hot tub!
Time caught up with us when we realised it was
now already 5 oclock in the afternoon. Time
for our return trip. We once again donned our
survival suits and life jackets and proceeded to
the helicopter. After a half hour flight, we were
back onshore at Den Helder Airport, where we
handed in our personal protective equipment.
We were all very impressed by the great
experience we had that day, and in the
evening we reflected on our day once again
while enjoying a beer. Many thanks to Dana
Petroleum, IRO and NOGEPA, and all other
organisations involved, for making this special
experience possible!

Disclaimer newsletter NOGEPA has

taken the greatest of care to ensure
the accuracy of the contents of the
e-mail newsletter, but is not liable
for any inaccuracies, omissions, or
errors whether in respect of the
information provided in the e-mail
newsletter. The information in the
newsletter may only be used by
readers for their own purposes.
Permission must be obtained from
NOGEPA for any other use.