2007-03-02 - An internal conference organised by BP has given ABB a golden opportunity to network with 130 of the company’s instrumentation, control, electrical project and maintenance specialists.
An internal conference organised by BP has given ABB a golden opportunity to network with 130 of the company’s instrumentation, control, electrical project and maintenance specialists.
Held in Edinburgh, the four-day Instrument Control Electrical (ICE) conference and exhibition attracted its largest ever audience, with representatives from BP business segments and assets around the world. Joining them were representatives from 18 vendor companies, including ABB.
Held as an annual global event, the conference provides a forum for delegates to find new ways to improve safety and integrity, maximise production efficiency and reduce the cost of maintenance. For vendors, the event offered an ideal platform to show how their latest technologies and services can be put to work in future BP projects to help achieve these aims.
Hot topics discussed at this year’s event included mobile computing, the use of wireless networks for communications and the tracking of employees in remote areas of plant in the event of an emergency.
ABB presented three papers sharing its own experience from recent projects, focusing on the topics of ‘REA Arc Mitigation System, Regulatory Control Tuning and Optimisation Valhall and Slug Mitigation Solutions, ‘Electric System Optimisation in a Refinery’ and ‘Reliability Centred Maintenance with CALPOS Main’.
In addition to the main conference, the event also featured exhibition areas where vendors could showcase examples of their latest technologies and services.
“We incorporate a vendor display area to provide an opportunity for BP delegates to network with some of our key suppliers,” says Kevin Hailes, Electrical Consultant in BP’s North Sea SPU Engineering team and joint organiser of the event. “This is an integral part of the conference as we work with these suppliers to identify potential solutions for our problems.”
Peter Todorov, BP Group Account Manager for ABB, said: “ABB’s exhibition stand featured a number of our newest technologies including the 800xA control system, the Extended Operator Workplace and our latest intelligent switchgear. To maximise the opportunity, the stand was also used by our Engineering Services, Drives and Instrumentation businesses to highlight their products and expertise in oil and gas and petrochemical applications.”
Suppliers also had the chance to make an impact by hosting various evening events. ABB’s event was a Scottish Gala evening at Hopetoun House, a country house outside Edinburgh. No effort was spared in giving Gala guests a fully authentic Scottish experience, which included a piper, haggis and Highland dancing.
Says Todorov: “Attending the conference proved a great success for ABB and we got a very positive reaction. As a result, we have been invited to be one of the few exhibitors at BP’s global, multi-discipline engineering conference in April, where we will further demonstrate the Extended Operator Workplace, plus our pioneering HVDC Light technology. ABB is the only vendor to be invited to exhibit in two different areas – power from shore and automation”