Broadening horizons

Non-executive
chairman, Dr George
Watkins
Pg. 3
The international publication for PSN
Issue 2 2006
Sangu rescue mission
saves 16 lives
Sangu Operations offshore support vessel assists
dramatic rescue mission.
Pg. 7
Talented professionals
in the making
PSN welcomes new graduates from a variety of
disciplines.
Pg. 20
Broadening horizons
From India to Aberdeen.
Pg. 6
Breathing new life.
Pg. 8
Australia to Aberdeen and back again.
Pg. 18
Cover image: Sunrise on the Nile
Contents
Editor’s intro
ssue 2 is full of news and
insights from some of the
great people and teams that
make up our network.
Grant Newberry, a recent
graduate who was seconded to
the Aberdeen office from
Melbourne, tells us why he
enjoyed his experience, and in
‘From India to Aberdeen’,
Chandresh Makwana explains the
cultural differences between
working in India and the UK.
Two very different operations, one
common success story, page 19
Dee Pearce writes about the
challenges and rewards of
completing further education, and
we hear how Ian Magee is using
his extensive experience in the
industry to head up the Samsung
Assignment on Sakhalin Island one of our most exciting
construction jobs in recent years.
In the last eight months we have
enjoyed growth and success in
the UK and Canada; Peter Brown
discusses the highlights and
Zeffrey Lucas similarly updates
us on our US operations,
explaining why he thinks 2007 is
set to be another great year for
PSN in America.
We introduce you to George
Watkins, our non-executive
chairman, who discusses PSN’s
key strengths and tells us why
he is excited to be part of the
new company, and we hear from
Alan Gordon on how our network
is thriving!
The compassionate and unselfish
acts of bravery demonstrated by
our employees is inspiring - read
how the Sangu team in
Bangladesh completed a dramatic
rescue mission, saving 16
seamen, and how the courage of
David Lumsden, a PSN employee
in Aberdeen, earned himself the
title of 'local hero'.
04
04
14
20
Early to bed!
Our St John’s office completes the largest single project for the Terra Nova FPSO in less than half
the time such work usually takes
05
CEO update
Bob Keiller gives us an update
09
Strong foundations
Peter Brown, operations director for UK and Canada, talks about our growth and success
10
Ian Magee on Samsung
Ian gives us an insight into his thirty year career and his role as assignment
manager for the Sakhalin hook up project in Korea
This is who we are and what we
do. Make the most of your
position in the network and reach
out to more people by sending
your news, stories and
photographs for inclusion in the
next edition. I hope you enjoy
this issue.
12
Kenna Blackhall
Editor
T: +44 (0)1224 777014
22
E: [email protected]
06
Our network in action
Alan Gordon explains how our Melbourne office is embracing the concept of networking
16
The power of 3
As part of our on-going continuous improvement drive, we have created three engineering centres
of excellence
Our house
Our DPC team takes a family approach to safety
Designed and produced in-house by the PSN Corporate Communications Team
eorge Watkins
is the nonexecutive
chairman of the PSN
board of directors. An
expert in the oil and
gas industry, with
previous posts such as
managing director for
ConocoPhillips and
President of UKOOA
(UK Offshore
Operators Association)
under his belt. George
brings a wealth of
international
experience working in
frontier countries to
PSN. He talks to
Network about his role
and tells us why he is
excited to be part of
the new company.
Dr George Watkins,
PSN non-executive
chairman
Network: What is the role of a
non-executive chairman?
George Watkins: My role is to
provide the executive committee
(Excom) with independent and
objective guidance on company
decisions and governance based
on my commercial expertise and
experience within the oil and gas
industry. The job of the chairman
is to help the chief executive and
the Excom be successful.
N: How did you get involved with
PSN?
Up close and personal
What song best describes your outlook on life?
‘Always look on the bright side of life.’
If you were stranded on a desert island which two items
would you take with you and why?
A radio so I could listen to the cricket, and a fishing rod.
What fictional character best describes you?
Captain Kirk – every week he has a new adventure and always
ends up okay.
What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve received?
Pick good people.
Is there anything in life you are particularly passionate
about?
GW: I was approached by Bob
Keiller over a year ago to discuss
becoming a non-executive
chairman. I then met with each
of the board members individually
so we could get to know each
other. I was extremely impressed
with the board - their clear
commitment and excitement
towards the buy-out was what
led to my acceptance.
N: What attracted you to work
with us in this capacity?
GW: I think the company has
great potential. I was excited to
get involved with a forward
looking company where I could
use my skills and experience.
I like the pro-active attitude of
the people who work here – they
see an issue and don’t just sit
back, they say, ‘okay, what are
we going to do about it?’ For
example PSN’s Re-engineer
programme in the UK is a unique
programme that sets us apart
from the industry.
N: What do you see as PSN’s
main strengths?
GW: The quality of people at PSN
is the main strength - employees
are committed, eager and full of
new ideas on how to do things.
work?; can we do an outstanding
job?; and can we make a profit?
N: What is the biggest challenge
you face in your job?
GW: Often the challenge for a
non-executive is not having
enough information about what
is going on in the company. This
has never been a problem for me
at PSN. The Excom has a very
open dialogue which ensures I
have all the information that I
require.
N: What key strengths do you
bring to the board?
GW: Objectivity is one key
strength I bring to the board.
Since I am not caught up in dayto-day issues I can provide more
of an independent view.
The company’s commitment to
safety is also a key strength, as
is the selective nature that PSN
adopts when pursuing new
business - PSN asks three
questions when reviewing
opportunities; can we do the
Dr George Watkins previously worked at ConocoPhillips as chairman and managing director of Conoco (U.K.)
Ltd, a position he held from 1993 until his retirement in 2002. He joined the Conoco Group in London in 1973
and held several senior appointments in both the UK and abroad.
A native of Nottingham, Dr. Watkins graduated with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) in Mining and Doctor of
Philosophy (Ph.D) in geophysics from the University of Leeds. He has a Master of Science (M.Sc) in Management
from Stanford University, California and an honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng) from Heriot-Watt
University, Edinburgh.
He was president of the UK Offshore Operators Association in 1996, Chairman of the Petroleum Science and
Technology Institute, Edinburgh from 1995 to 1996 and the founding chairman of the UK Offshore Industry Step
Change in Safety initiative from 1997 to 2000.
What do you want people to know about you?
Dr Watkins was chairman of Scottish Enterprise Grampian from January 2001 to December 2004, having been
a Board member from 1994. He was a member of this year’s Royal Society of Edinburgh Committee of Inquiry
into Energy Policy for Scotland. He is a non-executive director of Abbot Group plc, the Defence Procurement
Agency and ITI Scotland Ltd, and a governor of the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.
I value different perspectives – I try to listen and think about
what people say.
He was appointed CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2000 New Year Honours List
for his services to the U.K. oil and gas industry.
My eighteen month old granddaughter – it’s exciting watching
someone see things for the first time.
3
Our St John’s office has completed the largest
single project for the Terra Nova FPSO, in
the form of engineering, procurement and
construction of a 780 tonne additional living
quarters module, in less than half the time
that such work usually takes.
Early to bed!
he job involved a multi-national team on two sides of an
ocean, and along with safety, schedule and cost, there was
an emphasis on local content and skills transfer; quite a
challenging project to learn on.
To meet the formidable technical and logistical challenges involved,
an integrated project management team was formed in October 2005,
made up of people from both PSN and our customer, Petro-Canada.
The additional living quarters had to be ready for lifting onto the
floating production storage offloading (FPSO) vessel before it entered
dry dock in Rotterdam in July 2006. In order to maximize local content
and technology transfer, the additional living quarters was fabricated
in Newfoundland, meaning that fabrication had to be completed by
mid-June to allow adequate time for loadout and crossing the Atlantic.
The typical duration required to design, procure and fabricate a fortybed accommodation module is sixteen to eighteen months; working
with Swedish, Dutch and Canadian subcontractors, we completed the
work within eight months.
Design and procurement of the module began in December 2005 and
by late January 2006, the first shipments of steel arrived at NECL,
our fabrication subcontractor, in Bull Arm, Newfoundland. Over the
following five months, NECL performed in excess of 200,000 person
hours, with employment peaking at 330 personnel.
In order to provide support to the fabrication activities and aid the
technology transfer process, both PSN and our Swedish subcontractor,
Pharmadule Emtunga, assigned full-time personnel to the Bull Arm
site team. In addition, a team of over thirty engineers, based in our
St John’s office, worked around
the clock to manage the
engineering interfaces with
Emtunga, as well as completing
engineering and construction
workpacks.
Fabrication of the module was
completed in June 2006, and in
a complex eight-hour operation,
it was loaded-out of the Bull Arm
module hall onto the giant
transportation barge, SMIT
Anambas, along with the module
support frame, starboard lifeboat
enclosure, and over twenty
containers of materials required
for the dry dock phase of the
turnaround project. On 30th June
2006, the barge left Bull Arm en
route to Keppel Verolme shipyard
in Rotterdam, arriving safely
twelve days later.
Following the heavy lift of the
module onto the Terra Nova FPSO
in Rotterdam harbour, hook-up
and integration will occur in dry
dock. Approximately thirty-five
Safety milestone on Scott platform
e recently celebrated
365 days on Nexen
UK’s Scott platform
without a ‘lost time incident’,
accident or injury.
“This is a remarkable achievement
and the first time Scott has
achieved a year without lost time
incident in its 12 year operating
history” said Ian Sharp, UK
operations director for Nexen
Petroleum U.K. Limited.
“Sustained effort to address
established safety habits has
resulted in dramatically improved
4
attitudes. Visitors to Scott
comment on the palpable
commitment to safety,
environment and social
responsibility. Numerous facility
repairs and modifications, in
addition to a stable core crew,
have also contributed to today’s
celebration.”
Peter Brown, PSN UK operations
director, agrees: “This is evidence
of PSN’s commitment to the
health and safety of our people.
Safety is at the heart of everything
we do: the way we plan, the way
we prepare and the way we work.
This goes beyond simply following
rules and regulations. Walking
the talk, from the top down, has
created a cultural shift leading to
the best year in Scott’s history.
This is not a coincidence. Only
leadership and teamwork of the
highest order can bring about this
level of improvement. It is a
great achievement, particularly
for the offshore community. We
look forward to helping Ian and
his team achieve further
milestones in every facet of their
operations.”
Some of the team members in St John’s
PSN personnel are integrated into Petro-Canada’s dry dock construction
team and will play a crucial role in the remaining Terra Nova turnaround
activities.
The new module will allow Petro-Canada greater flexibility to manage
ongoing work required for regulatory compliance, maintenance and
improved operational reliability.
Having kicked off operations in St John’s, Newfoundland in 1996, this
is an impressive way to celebrate our first decade in Canada.
This is a remarkable achievement
and the first time Scott has achieved a
year without lost time incident in its 12
year operating history
Ian Sharp, UK operations director for Nexen Petroleum U.K. Limited
CEO update
from Bob Keiller
SN is now eight months old and what a journey it has been. We have successfully untied the
connections with our previous owners and are now truly independent – a large part of this is the
introduction of our new ‘back office’ system. It is difficult to do justice to the scale of the challenge
we have overcome in putting the new system in place in just half a year. Most companies take 12-18
months to achieve what we have and this is a credit to the project team, to everyone who was involved,
and to all those who kept the business running when the project team was focused on the new system.
It will take a few months to iron out the wrinkles in the new system but I am confident it will give us a
competitive edge.
Our opportunities for new business are increasing but the main focus for all of us is doing a great job
for our existing customers. While most of our projects are performing really well with excellent customer
feedback, there are a very small number where we could do better.
Reputations take a long time to establish, but are very easily lost, and the quickest way for us to lose
our reputation is to disappoint a customer. It is vital that every one of us cares about delivery – delivering
the results we promise, when we promise them, at the cost we promise them, and in line with our core
values.
Between now and the end of the year everyone in PSN will receive a copy of a new booklet called, ‘Joining
the Network’. This has been developed by PSN people, for PSN people. It sets out our core values and
personal expectation in four areas:
1. Health, Safety and Environment (HSE)
2. Ethical behaviour
3. Commitment to teamwork
4. Protecting our reputation
I hope that this will be a useful reference to you as it sets out the things we all need to do to deliver a
great job. We are also developing more detailed guidelines specifically for managers and supervisors in
PSN.
Flexibility, speed of response and being a truly joined up network are key to PSN’s successful future.
Some of the articles in this edition of Network show just what we are achieving so far. By introducing
simple guidelines on how we do business we can avoid lots of unnecessarily detailed procedures and
bureaucracy.
In the next edition I will share with you some of the contract successes we have had since our birth in
May.
Flexibility, speed of response and being
a truly joined up network are key to PSN’s
successful future.
The signs for our fledgling business are very encouraging, and as we continue to deliver a great job, not
only will our customers come back for more but we will be able to attract new customers too.
Wise words
raham Wilson, an
electrical technician
working on the Sigma3
joint venture in the North Sea,
has released his second collection
of safety poetry. ‘Wise Words’ is
a book of poems written from the
perspective of a man on the
ground, about how safety
attitudes impact our everyday
work in a potentially hazardous
environment.
Graham’s poetry uses rhyming
couplets to explore nearly every
aspect of our industry’s safety
systems. He rightly explores
safety in our homes and
frequently returns to the key
theme of intervention,
demonstrating that we will
undoubtedly reduce incidents if
we care enough about each other
to intervene.
This collection of poetry by
Graham Wilson, follows on from
his inaugural book ‘From Rhyme
to Reason’ published by PSN in
2004. To launch his new book
and share some of the key safety
messages that he is passionate
about, Graham is hosting a poetry
reading in Aberdeen later this
year.
Peter Brown, PSN UK operations
director, commented, “The health
and safety of our people is our
greatest responsibility. We are
committed to making the North
Sea the safest oil and gas region
so always looking for new and
arresting ways of communicating
safety messages. By applying
Graham’s imaginative poetry to
our lives, we can create a safer
place to work. I urge you to learn
from his ‘Wise Words’.”
If you would like to order or download a copy of Graham’s book
please visit www.psnworld.com/wisewords
5
Chandresh Makwana
and his family are
from Mumbai, the
financial capital of
India and the hub of
the Hindi movie
industry, popularly
known as
‘Bollywood’. He left
his native India in
1996 to begin his
international career
in oil and gas and
worked in a list of
countries including
Italy, Singapore and
Oman, before joining
PSN two years ago.
We see a huge skill pool of
technical expertise in India and have
launched a large recruitment initiative
to tap into this talent.
Personnel recruited from India are
given a relocation package to assist
their transition. In many cases, new
employees bring their family, so smooth
integration is a top priority. We spend
a lot of time helping the employees
settle and really look after their welfare.
Most employees who have relocated
from overseas – particularly from India
settle very quickly. Our workforce is
becoming increasingly diverse and
representative of our client base.
Dean Hunter, PSN HR director
urrently a senior technical
professional, Chandresh
works on one of Chevron’s
three fields, ‘Captain’ as a focal
point for the process team. His
responsibilities include ensuring
technical correctness and
completeness of various
engineering drawings and
documents, as well as providing
on-the-job training to the graduate
process engineers.
“Aberdeen also has an Indian
Association set up to promote
Indian cultural events, which gives
members and their families the
opportunity to meet other people
from India residing in the local
community. The association holds
5-6 annual events, where you can
enjoy Indian food and dance,
during the celebration of various
Indian festivals.”
Talking about his relocation
Chandresh says it was actually
quite easy. “The HR team at PSN,
as well as my colleagues, were
very supportive and offered a
great deal of assistance in my
move. The fact that my family
and I have stayed abroad for
quite a few years now also helped
as we have developed a kind of
experience of settling into
different countries and adapting
to their weather and cultures
without much difficulty.”
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my
time with PSN, says
Chandresh. “I’ve gained
good offshore
PSN has an excellent
experience and had the
opportunity to work in
reputation in the industry, and
a multi-ethnic team
its global reach provides great
which in turn has
allowed me to learn
prospects with the opportunity
about different cultures.
for career development and
As a truly international
company, you find
promotion very real and
people all over the world
potentially very quick
working together at
PSN.
“The company’s impressive
portfolio of clients, including major
oil and gas operators such as BP,
ExxonMobil, Chevron and
ConocoPhillips, presents excellent
opportunities for you to increase
your experience in the oil and gas
industry; since joining PSN I’ve
worked with ConocoPhillips, BP
and Chevron - all key players in
the industry.”
Chandresh explains, “The working
environment is very good and
everyone is friendly. The many
social events that the company
organises allow you to get to know
the people working on your team
quickly, and as there are a number
of other employees from India
working in PSN there is good
6
social support to anyone
relocating from India.
When asked if he found there to
be many differences between
working in the UK and India,
Chandresh explained that
although there are obviously
many cultural differences, such
as food, dress, accent,
entertainment and gestures, this
does not present a problem.
“Indian food is extremely popular
in the UK and available in wide
varieties, and with more and more
exposure to international
opportunities, people adapt very
quickly to local dress, customs
and accents. The easy access
now to satellite televisions and
the internet also means that
entertainment crosses all
boundaries and you can watch
what ever you like.”
I’d happily recommend
PSN to anyone
considering re-locating,
says Chandresh, “The
company offers an
extremely competitive
package in the industry
and with its headquarters based in
Aberdeen, the oil capital
of Europe, you can
expect long-term
employment. PSN has
an excellent reputation
in the industry, and its global
reach provides great prospects
with the opportunity for career
development and promotion very
real and potentially very
quick.”
Sangu rescue
mission saves
16 lives
The Sangu Operations offshore support
vessel (OSV) Wira Keris, recently assisted
with a dramatic rescue mission, saving
16 seamen from drowning.
by PSN and all survived with only
minor injuries. The survivors
were given first aid on board the
OSV and transferred onshore from
the Wira Keris at the Chittagong
dry dock. Other members of the
crew were picked up by small
boats.
he Wira Keris was
approaching the
Karnaphuli river outer
anchorage, when fire broke out
on a local oil transport vessel lying
at anchor there. It was the closest
vessel in the area and the team
could already see crew members
on the distressed vessel jumping
into the water. The OSV master
immediately called the Sangu
Terminal Central control room to
report the blaze and request
permission to pick up survivors.
Sangu operations emergency
management team mustered at
the control room and permission
was given for the OSV to break
off her course and assist. The
Wira Keris moved closer to the
stricken vessel and started to
pick-up survivors as well as
deploying her fire fighting cannon
to help douse the fire.
Thanks to the quick and efficient
response of the team, 16 of the
48 man crew, including the master
and chief engineer, were rescued
Bill Goodfellow, Sangu field
manager praised the team
commenting, “The successful
rescue of the 16 survivors by our
OSV demonstrates how prepared
our Sangu teams are to handle
and respond to emergency
incidents. The compassion they
showed afterwards on the Wira
Keris to these fellow mariners is
to be highly commended”.
The successful rescue of the 16
survivors by our OSV demonstrates how
prepared our Sangu teams are to handle
and respond to emergency incidents.
Bill Goodfellow, PSN Sangu field manager
The Sangu operation includes the
only gas field offshore
Bangladesh, located some 30 km
in the Bay of Bengal from the
main sea port of Chittagong. The
platform and onshore terminal
are operated and maintained by
PSN for Cairn Energy.
Local hero receives bravery award
rave PSN employee, David
Lumsden, was one of 70
local Scottish heroes’
recently honoured by Scotland’s
first minister, Jack McConnell, at
a reception in Edinburgh Castle
in Scotland, for carrying out an
act of bravery against crime and
antisocial behaviour.
David, along with three friends,
tried to catch a man who had
robbed a woman of her handbag.
The man escaped after
threatening them with a large
knife, but was later identified and
sentenced to 16 months
imprisonment.
Jack McConnell commented,
"Every year I am inspired by the
bravery and courage of individuals
across Scotland. When I hear
how they have acted instinctively
to tackle often dangerous
criminals, I am proud of their
decency and selflessness. They
are ordinary people like you and
me. They are various ages and
they come from many different
backgrounds. But their bravery
sets them apart - in the face of
danger they have shown real
courage. This year's heroes' are
a credit to themselves, their
families and their communities.
We all owe them our
thanks."
Above: The crew of the Wira Keris give first aid to the survivors of the stricken
vessel.
David Lumsden, construction
supervisor on the Auk Alpha platform
7
Breathing new life
PSN is part of the team working to refresh and modernise
assets in the Gulf of Suez. This rejuvenation project will ensure
future decades of oil and gas production.
e were awarded the multi million dollar contract earlier this year by Enppi (Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries)
on behalf of GUPCO (Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company) to provide project management and project control services.
GUPCO is a joint venture owned in equal shares by BP and EGPC (the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation) and is responsible
for oil and gas production in the Gulf of Suez. Enppi is a wholly owned subsidiary of EGPC.
Jerome Lynch, international operations director for PSN is naturally delighted that we are working alongside GUPCO and Enppi. He says,
“the decision to appoint us was based on our ability to deliver major brownfield engineering projects, our reputation as an experienced
international service provider and our track record in providing established systems and processes to support and supplement the execution
of the projects.”
As a demonstration of how our network functions, the PSN team has been mobilised to the assignment in Cairo from a variety of locations
around the world including Baku, Qatar, Japan, Rio de Janeiro, Gabon, Kazakhstan and the UK.
John Spittal, PSN’s project manager, commented, “This project is unique for PSN in Egypt, firstly because it is a performance-based project
and secondly because it demonstrates that we can provide competitive brownfield solutions in Egypt.”
Cairo fast facts
The decision to appoint us was
based on our ability to deliver major
brownfield engineering projects, our
reputation as an experienced international
service provider and our track record in
providing established systems and
processes to support and supplement
the execution of the projects
Jerome Lynch, International operations director
John Spittal, PSN project manager
8
Cairo, the Triumphant City, known
officially as al-Qahirah, which
spans the banks of the Nile River
to its southern delta, is the capital
of Egypt and the largest city in
the Middle East and Africa with
a population of almost sixteen
million. Thousands of years of
history have shaped Cairo's
distinctive character. Its colourful,
crowded streets full of non-stop
activity can be an overload on
the senses. But Cairo's energy
makes it a completely unique and
captivating experience — with a
lively personality all of its own.
The city offers its share of
contrasting elements: modern
office buildings beside the most
modest family dwellings, the
latest-model cars next to humble
carts. And from every tall venue
you can see the great, 4,500-
year-old Pyramids of Giza
towering above it all. This timeless
city has all the history you'd
expect, including the Sphinx
Temple and the hundred-year-old
Egypt Museum and its thousands
of ancient Egyptian relics.
The official language is Arabic
although english is widely spoken.
Cairo is predominantly muslim
and during Ramadan, the Islamic
month of fasting, many
businesses work half-days,
museums and tourist sites shut
early and many restaurants only
open after sundown.
Strong foundations
Growth and success in UK and Canada
Since stepping out on our own as PSN in May this
year we have had a number of significant
achievements. Here, Peter Brown, operations director
for UK and Canada, picks some of his highlights.
Healthy growth in the UK…
hroughout 2006, the UK
Region has enjoyed steep
growth of around 30%
per annum. One area of rapid
growth is the BP engineering
modifications and maintenance
(EMM) contract, under Jacques
LeBlanc’s leadership. This contract
has seen the start of the Harding
area gas project this year. We
were awarded the brownfield
modifications, in addition to the
hook up and commissioning of
the new bridge linked platform
being provided by AMEC. We have
also been awarded the Dimlington
compression front end
engineering and design (FEED),
which will initially be delivered by
our Runcorn office. Our EMM
contract has been extended to
cover the Dimlington gas terminal
modifications in South Yorkshire,
which we’re happy to say, allows
us to open a new office in the
Humber area.
Our most significant development
with BP this year has been on a
project to produce clean energy
while extending the life of an
asset by a quarter century. We
did the FEED for their
decarbonised fuel initiative, a
project that will split gas from
offshore into carbon and hydrogen
at Peterhead. The hydrogen will
be burned in the new purposebuilt power station to provide
clean energy, while the carbon
will be converted to CO2 and
reinjected into the Miller reservoir.
Our FEED did the ground work
for the Miller conversion to
compress and inject CO2, which
will enhance oil production from
Miller and extend its life by 25
years! PSN is proud to work with
BP on a project of such national
and global significance.
All of our customers in the UK
region have asked us to do more
work than had been planned,
safeguarding the steep growth
we are experiencing.
…and in Canada
In Eastern Canada, under Roger
Clarke’s leadership, we have
consolidated our position as
market leader by executing some
major pieces of work. For
ExxonMobil we worked with
Granherne to execute pre-FEED
conceptual design for a major
expansion of the Hibernia
facilities. For Petro Canada we
provided procurement and project
management of an additional
accommodation module for the
Terra Nova FPSO, and the
engineering and construction
support for the 40 day dry docking
of the FPSO in Holland. These
projects collectively gave rise to
our best ever year in Canada and
a workforce of over 200 in midsummer.
The strength of the operations in
St John and the birth of the new
subsidiary company, PSN Canada
Inc., have promoted consideration
of the booming tar sands market
in Western Canada. Several
exploratory visits have been made
and we expect our Canada
operations will extend to the west
in the foreseeable future.
Safety awards and
improvements
This year, PSN was successful in
achieving the Royal Society of
Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)
Gold Award for the fourth
consecutive year. This award is
given in recognition and
celebration of excellent health
and safety performance
throughout the company.
We continue to work hard to
create a safe, healthy workplace
and make a critical contribution
to the industry’s Step Change
organisation. Despite our incident
frequency increasing in line with
industry trends, the majority have
been minor incidents, which
suggests we are getting better at
mitigating bigger risks. Personal
accountability for safety remains
the central pillar of our drive for
an incident free work place. By
sharing our successes and
learning from our incidents and
near incidents we are building a
sound foundation of improving
performance.
PSN continues to supply the full
range of integrated services for
engineering, construction,
commissioning, operations and
maintenance, and enjoys a strong
relationship with ConocoPhillips
that dates from 1994. This win,
so soon after PSN’s birth, sends
an unavoidable celebratory
message to the market. PSN has
arrived!
Sweetest success
Perhaps the sweetest success of
2006 has been the retention of
the important ConocoPhillips
contract. This success was due
to the efforts and excellent service
delivery of Bill Yuile and his team.
BP Dimlington contract scooped
In October we received some excellent news for our business, with a new award
of the BP Dimlington Onshore Compression and Terminal Rationalisation Project
Front End Design (FEED).
his project is an extension
to the existing BP
Engineering Modifications
and Maintenance (EMM) Contract
awarded to PSN in 2004. We
currently support the Miller, Clair,
Harding, Andrew and SNS assets
providing a full range of
engineering and construction
support services. This award also
develops our existing portfolio of
major FEED projects currently
underway for BP, which includes
Harding Area Gas (HAGP)
Brownfield and the DF1 Offshore
project on the Miller asset.
Peter Brown, PSN UK operations
director, said: “The implications
of this new, high profile project
cannot be underestimated.
“Our Runcorn office will support
this critical piece of work, making
a significant economic contribution
to the regional and UK economy.
The Runcorn office provides a
service to the Irish Sea oil and
gas operators and the North West
petro-chemical industries. Over
the past three years, it has grown
to a current workforce of around
100, but we are now seeking
more qualified engineers and
project support personnel of all
disciplines.
for PSN is built on a network of
regional offices, from Melbourne
to Calgary, using local expertise
to deliver projects of international
significance.”
“Runcorn is a prime example of
networking in action as 50% of
their workload is imported from
other parts of PSN. Our vision
9
Ian Magee on
Samsung
Ian Magee, PSN global construction and commissioning manager, has over thirty
years of experience in the oil and gas, petro-chemical, and refinery construction
industry. He has been with the company for twenty years and brings a wealth of
experience on all aspects of construction management, both in the UK and
internationally. Ian is currently leading our Samsung project team on Sakhalin
Island, one of our most exciting construction jobs in recent years.
an began his career as an
apprentice electrician on the
west coast of Scotland. He
replied to a job advert in a
newspaper, which took him to
Aberdeen in the mid-nineteenseventies, a time when the oil
industry in Scotland was
dominated by mostly American
companies. The experience made
an impression, and more than
twenty years later, he went to
Houston as hook up and
commissioning manager, where
he showed his American
colleagues the latest in planning
systems, based on UK experience
and values.
Coming in at the bottom of what
then seemed like a foreign
industry, and climbing up through
the ranks to lead his field in an
internationally respected
company, stands Ian in good
stead for heading up projects that
take the oil and gas industry into
new places around the world,
such as Sakhalin Island.
On this significant piece of work
we currently provide offshore
support in the form of hook up,
10
engineering, logistics
management, planning and
coordination, and supervision, to
the Lunskoye field.
This project is part of the Sakhalin
II development, for Samsung
Heavy Industries, which is
bringing year-round oil and gas
production to an area that has
previously been limited to
seasonal oil production. Over half
a dozen companies are working
on construction and hook up
alone, and the main thing our
client wanted from us was
experience. We had to bring
people who could manage the
project, safely, within budget, and
on time.
Such a tough environment and
multiple-interface working is just
the kind of job to show what our
people and systems can do. Our
senior team members have over
150 years of experience between
them. During the course of the
contract so far, we have used
expertise from Korea, Australia,
Britain, the Philippines, Russia
and Malaysia.
Backing up our people are our
management systems and
processes. These make sure every
piece of work we do is on time,
within budget, and compliant with
the highest safety standards. Our
Work Planning System and
Completions Management System
have been developed to integrate
cultures and languages among
our colleagues. Isn’t that a
headache for a planner? Ben says
“If there’s no challenge it’s not
very interesting.” And the result?
“Things are on schedule”. We’ve
clearly sent the right people to
the right place.
Such a tough environment and multipleinterface working is just the kind of job to show
what our people and systems can do. Our senior
team members have over 150 years of
experience between them
easily with other systems. Their
popularity is based on their ability
to keep track of every aspect of
the job, while keeping all parties
well informed about what they
need to know. They are ideally
suited to complex working
environments.
On the ground, planning engineer,
Ben Butcher, confirms that our
systems are getting a workout
with all the different companies,
Back in Aberdeen, Ian is busy
finding more people like Ben.
Asked about his favourite part of
the job, he immediately says
graduate development. PSN is a
long-standing leader in graduate
recruitment, and Ian is keen that
the graduates he mentors should
spend as much time as they can
offshore. As Ian has built an
impressive career based on
hands-on experience, including
attaining the first ISO 90001 for
hook up and commissioning, he
knows what he’s talking about.
To strengthen our network, Ian
has established a leadership team
among the construction group,
to focus on developing
construction people. There’s a
clear passion when he speaks
about finding ways to enable
newcomers to gain experience
on some of the many
opportunities we have around the
world. By offering well-supported,
challenging and rewarding
positions in the Americas, Asia,
Africa, Australasia, and Europe,
Ian’s team is nurturing the future
of construction in the oil and gas
industry.
Construction people take the big
ideas captured in impressive
drawings and make them work
in the real world. Ian Magee is
taking a progressive vision of
construction and making it
happen at PSN.
Breaking the ice in Sakhalin
by Jerome Lynch, International operations director
Developing an international business requires a great deal
of patience, skill, and diplomacy. This is especially true when
it comes to Sakhalin Island which is located in the far east
of Russia, north of Japan.
akhalin is an intriguing place with a turbulent history set against a fragile backdrop of stunningly
beautiful scenery. The surrounding Sea of Okhotsk, known as the ‘Ice Kitchen’, produces massive ice
drifts and violent weather that generate some of the most challenging conditions for offshore operations.
Sakhalin is considered a frontier area for oil and gas exploration and production and so far capital investment
by oil companies in the area has been over $25bn with another $100bn expected in the next 20 years.
After two years of effort we have been awarded an engineering services contract with a major operator leading
one of the Sakhalin Production Sharing Agreements. It took many meetings, some very detailed proposals and
careful negotiation to get to this point and it is a tribute to the hard work and tenacity of those involved.
Today we have a team in the island’s capital, Youzhno-Sakhalinsk, in new offices located at the Sakhalin Centre. The
work will draw on resources from Moscow, Melbourne, Aberdeen and other parts of our network.
The success of the pursuit can be put down to many factors and many people in the organisation. The patience, skill,
and diplomacy of the team have certainly paid off. For PSN to win a contract is great, but to win a contract in such a
challenging frontier area with so much potential and after such a huge effort is a really great achievement!
Youzhno-Sakhalinsk
11
Our network in action
We asked PSN people for examples of how they had received
or given expert support from colleagues in other offices and
countries. Even from this unscientific sample, there is evidence
that our network is thriving.
Alan Gordon explains why our
network is thriving
Melbourne; a case study
We spoke with Asia Pacific operations
director, Alan Gordon, to find out why
he and his team had embraced the
networking approach. Melbourne has
recently supported modifications at Sangu
offshore platform, Bangladesh, assisted in
the installation of a methanol tower on the
Malampaya platform, Philippines, and conducted
a FEED study for water cooler designs for the
Rong Doi Platform, Vietnam. They have more work
heading their way.
Network: Why did you decide to promote the networking
concept?
Alan Gordon: One of our Asia customers, who we were providing
with additional support from Aberdeen, was keen for us to regionalise
our work. At the same time Melbourne had been working well with
one customer for several years. I wanted to develop the Melbourne
office capability and to help retain and attract the best people. Many
of our people in Melbourne wanted to gain other experience working
with different customers that would offer new challenges. The
networking concept is helping me address many of these issues.
N: Anything else?
AG: During a recent workshop exercise, people were split into different
sized groups and the groups had to answer questions. The more
people in a group, the more questions the group answered. Some
people were allowed to be a member of two groups and did even
better at the task. It’s so obviously a better way of working. It provides
benefits to our customer and the Melbourne office.
N: Has it worked out like that ?
AG: Our customer was happy because we were more responsive in
meeting the project targets. Our Melbourne people are happy because
they’ve had a chance to grow, gain a wider range of experience, show
off what they can do and further their professional development.
N: Any difficulties?
AG: There has to be a lot of trust, cooperation and good management;
if you’re prepared to work on those things then there aren’t difficulties.
12
Our plan is to grow a majo
global service network where ev
A lot of our people are starting to participate in monthly forums with
their peers in other offices. For example, we have established an HSE
network forum in Asia Pacific to encourage networking across our
HSE professionals in the region and improve the lines of communication
back to our corporate HSE group. This forum, Promote Safety Networks,
has networked our HSE professionals and they are now starting to
share and transfer the many great HSE initiatives that are created at
the project level across our Asia Pacific business. We have to remain
committed to and work hard at networking. We need to encourage
networking across all elements of our business where there is a value
to the business. It helps our people’s development by creating new
career opportunities and differentiates PSN for all our stakeholders,
which can only be good.
N: Would you encourage other people to do this?
AG: Yes. If we use the network properly, we can deliver more for less
and still safely deliver the same level of service quality to
our customers.
r sustainable international business by harnessing local skills into a
veryone can draw on the strength of the entire network.
Bob Keiller
13
Fighting malaria
Malaria is a significant problem
in Africa and presents major
obstacles to social and economic
development. Two hundred and
seventy million acute cases of
malaria are recorded in Africa
every year, resulting in more than
a million deaths, mostly in
children.
As part of PSN’s commitment to
reduce the impact of malaria on
our national workforce and their
families in Chad, we distributed
1,500 mosquito nets to all
Chadian workers. Each worker
was issued with three mosquito
nets, pre-treated with mosquito
repellent, for use at home to
protect themselves and their
families from malaria.
Chad team reaches
out to the local community
Safety Shelter opened in Kome
n Chad, the oil industry is
very new and we are training
and educating our workforce
to recognise basic work hazards
so that they don’t get hurt. On
1st September the team in Chad
opened a purpose built training
was successfully transported half
way around the world.
Paul Gibson, country manager
explained that the Shelter is a
pro-active initiative that will help
PSN improve its safety
is widespread. The Safety Shelter
will bring all the basics of safety
and hazard awareness to our local
employees by training them on
how to protect themselves, their
colleagues and their families from
the dangers and hazards that
Paul Gibson (country manager), Ron Seich (EEPCI operations superintendant), Duncan Skinner (PSN CFO),
Ron Romere (EEPCI operations manager) and Bill Nicholson (PSN commercial director) in the Kome Safety Shelter
facility in Kome known as the
Safety Shelter - a building with
16 rooms, each following a
particular safety theme and
containing interactive props and
learning material. The Safety
Shelter creates a realistic training
experience that the team in Chad
can only benefit from, and as a
result improve site safety.
This innovative approach to safety
originated from one of our
projects in Batangas (Philippines).
It was with help and support from
John Padmore and Erwin San
Miguel in Batangas that this idea
14
performance in Chad and bring
many benefits to employees and
the local community. “There are
very few local industries in the
Kome Basin, unemployment
figures are very high and poverty
they encounter daily at the
worksite and at home.
“Now we have created the Shelter
in Chad we want to build on the
efforts and contributions to date.
The Shelter is not the ultimate
solution but it is another tool
to help us protect and
minimise the risk for all of
our employees in Chad. The
opening of the Safety Shelter
is a real and exciting
demonstration of our Safety,
People and Innovation core
values.”
Ron Romere, operations
manager for Esso Exploration
& Production Chad Inc
praised the team saying, “The
Safety Shelter your team has
developed is an excellent tool
to educate our workforce on
the higher risk activities that
they will encounter here in
the Kome production area.
The displays and interactive
stations will provide a high
quality learning environment,
especially for our less
experienced personnel. I
believe the Safety Shelter will
play an instrumental role in
helping us achieve an
incident-free workplace here
at Kome.”
The level of planning and detail that has gone into
creating the Safety Shelter is awe inspiring. It will provide an
intensive introduction to safety for more than 1,000 people
on site
Duncan Skinner, chief financial officer
Louise Henderson, business
services manager on the project
said, “Whilst National workers are
classed as semi-immune with
regards to malaria its effects can
still be devastating, especially for
young children and the elderly.
The use of mosquito nets is a key
precaution in the effort to reduce
malaria cases.
“This exercise also contributes to
the efforts of achieving zero
malaria cases within PSN's nonimmune expatriate population in
Chad. Because mosquitoes
become infected with malaria
after biting someone carrying it,
the potential for transmission to
non-immune personnel is reduced
if the incidence of malaria among
the local population is reduced.”
The nets will provide valuable
protection to 500 families for at
least the next three years.
PSN’s Duncan Skinner and Bill Nicholson were in Chad for the opening
ceremony with senior representatives from ExxonMobil. Here’s what
they had to say:
Duncan Skinner, chief financial officer: “The level of planning and
detail that has gone into creating the Safety Shelter is awe inspiring.
It will provide an intensive introduction to safety for more than 1,000
people on site.”
Bill Nicholson, Commercial director: “Most of us live in an environment
where a development like this is taken for granted. It was a real
challenge to create a facility in a location where you can’t simply go
round to your local store and take what you need off the shelf. The
project team in Chad has put in a huge effort over a very busy period
to make the Safety Shelter a reality.”
Most of us live in an environment where a
development like this is taken for granted. It was a real
challenge to create a facility in a location where you can’t
simply go round to your local store and take what you
need off the shelf. The project team in Chad has put
in a huge effort over a very busy period to make the
Safety Shelter a reality
Bill Nicholson, commercial director
New well promises to improve conditions for locals
A new water well installed by PSN
in a local school in Chad will
greatly improve the health and
quality of life of villagers from the
surrounding local area by
providing clean water to around
4000 people.
The 59 metre deep well was
installed at Moundouli School near
to our operations at Kome 5, and
contributed to the local economy
and labour market because all of
the work was carried out by one
of PSN's local subcontractors.
Bob Keiller, PSN CEO commented,
“The new water well will
considerably improve the living
conditions in Moundouli and is a
positive example of our core
values in action. Our values of
localisation, integrity, relationships,
health and safety, and people are
all demonstrated very well in this
community project.”
Nothing rocky about this road
Zeffrey Lucas, PSN operations director for the Americas, tells Network about his highlights over the last
eight months and why he thinks 2007 is set to be another great year for PSN.
aving completed eight
months as a new
company I’ve heard many
success stories from across our
global network and am confident
that this is just the beginning.
We’ve met with some good
success in the form of a new
contract award from
ConocoPhillips to support their
drilling operations near Rifle,
Colorado. Initially, the scope of
this contract will focus on
managing the man camp, with
our long term focus on expanding
support to construction,
maintenance and operations.
our operations and maintenance
support contract with BP, has
enjoyed significant expansion and
now includes work in Wyoming,
Kansas, Okalahoma, Texas
Panhandle as well as south
Louisiana. Similarly, our contract
with Marathon, the largest
individual acreage holder in the
Powder River Basin in Wyoming,
and one of the most active
onshore natural gas plays in the
continental US, has expanded
from a simple roustabout supply
contract, to full time production
operations support sustained by
65 employees.
A major ‘first’ for us in the U.S
has been our recent move into
our brand new U.S headquarters.
Up until now we’ve been located
at the heart of KBR’s offices at
Clinton Drive (Houston, Texas),
but the signing of this new lease
means we’ll be standing on our
own two feet, closer to our
customers, and in a better part
of town! This is an exciting new
beginning for us.
California
Further west, in California, on the
Occidental (Oxy) Petroleum Elk
Hills field, we embarked on a new
contract in May 2006. We
currently provide operations and
maintenance support to Oxy’s gas
facilities, including maintenance
planning and scheduling and all
major maintenance activities.
This includes preventative
maintenance in the plant process
improvement and execution
support for capital projects in the
gas facilities. As part of this new
contract, 150 new employees
joined our team to provide
roustabout and production
operations support in the Elk Hills
field.
From a U.S perspective, our
business falls into three
geographical ‘groupings’ – the
Rocky Mountains, California and
Gulf of Mexico – here’s a quick
update on what we’re doing:
Rocky Mountains
In the Rocky Mountain region,
Gulf of Mexico
In the Gulf of Mexico we currently
enjoy good relationships with a
number of customers, including
key players such as BP, Chevron,
Energy Partners, ConocoPhillips
and Halliburton’s Energy Services
Group, who we provide
operations, maintenance,
engineering and construction
support services to. Unlike the
North Sea, where fixed term
contracts are the norm, the Gulf
of Mexico contracts are
predominantly ‘evergreen’. This
means that they continue with
little amendment, on a rolling
basis, unless a significant event
generates contract review.
Our business development focus
over the next eighteen months is
to extend our capability in the
Gulf of Mexico, develop
engineering capability throughout
the USA and grow our operations
and maintenance management
potential. With the solid base we
have established and the growth
opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico
and Rocky Mountain regions, the
possibilities for expansion into
new territory are huge - 2007
looks set to be another great year
for PSN in the USA!
15
As part of our on-going continuous improvement
drive we have created three centres of
excellence within our engineering function,
providing even greater flexibility to our
customers, and keeping our business moving
forward. Each centre of excellence is staffed
by leaders in their field, working across our
network to push innovation and enhance
existing resources. This approach to
continuous improvement for ourselves
and our customers, safeguards our
ability to adapt advantageously in
a changing market.
Central Studies
Translating a customer’s conceptual objectives into a practical design that can meet their
budget, schedule, safety and environmental requirements, takes both attention to detail and
the ability to see the larger picture. The Central Studies group mixes a considerable breadth
of discipline knowledge with some of the most experienced specialists in the industry to
produce unparalleled results in this field.
Led by George Budge, the Central
Studies group provides a range
of services to meet its customer’s
study needs. These services
include conceptual, FEED,
debottlenecking, and plant trial
studies. The group also supports
proposals by looking at the
feasibility of scopes of work, and
takes on the occasional unusual
job where an unconventional
solution must be found.
members of the Central Studies
group means that they have the
confidence to employ genuinely
innovative thinking along with
detailed technical insight. They
work closely with a value
engineering specialist, who ranks
solutions according to our
customers’ decision criteria, and
matches the best technical
solution to our customers’ true
objectives.
of the team gives them a detailed
appreciation of their customers’
needs. This makes for a good
relationship, and easy knowledge
transfer with detailed design
teams.
Conceptual engineering deals with
the key assumptions that underpin
how a design works. The
extensive experience held by the
The tools and methods used by
PSN’s Central Studies group make
complex option selection
transparent, and the experience
Engineering design can be viewed
like one hundred open doors
representing potential designs,
that you gradually close until
The group works with both
internal and external customers.
Some external customers sit with
the team in our office; others just
want to see the end result.
you’re left with one that leads to
your best fit solution. The Central
Studies group helps you to find
the right door faster.
3
The power of
16
Central Engineering
When you’ve more work than you can handle, PSN Central Engineering means there is
somewhere within the network that you can find help.
Our PSN Central Engineering team
provides detailed design
engineering, procurement, and
construction and commissioning
support, wherever and whenever
it is needed in the network. This
involves making engineering
support available to remote
locations that don’t have their
own engineering capacity, and
assisting projects with unexpected
overloads of work.
The team of around fifty, includes
design engineers, buyers,
materials and fabrication
coordinators, construction and
commissioning engineers, and
planners. What they offer is the
ability to get work done when
there’s a capacity shortfall.
Central Engineering is also a
centre of excellence for LEAN
Engineering, which is about
eliminating unnecessary cost and
effort, while maintaining the very
highest of standards. LEAN
Engineering is comprised of a
range of tools and methods,
covering all aspects of
engineering, which deliver costeffective solutions, scaled to
project needs.
The Central Engineering team’s
success relies on how much it is
trusted to do a job within an
agreed cost and schedule. Their
attitude and results are the best
publicity for the group. To ensure
they meet all relevant criteria,
work is carried out in a ‘production
slot’ regime, which means that
each customer gets a dedicated
service. If the team can’t fit the
job into the production schedule
then it will seek to re-schedule
the work to meet the resources
available. Members of PSN Central
Engineering thrive on
responsibility and variety: they
dedicate themselves to what they
are doing, whatever kind of job
it is.
Dennis McRobbie, head of the
group, hopes that in the future
every PSN engineering centre will
have a central engineering
capability, enhancing our
responsiveness to our customers’
Advanced Integrity provides a diverse range of expert integrity and corrosion management
services, supported by an in-depth knowledge of change management. This expertise extends
the life of assets, while safeguarding technical integrity, and most importantly, the safety of
personnel, within full compliance of all applicable legislation.
The group’s Asset Integrity
Management System (AIMS)
maintains asset integrity with
regard to design and operational
requirements, and minimises
downtime due to corrosion-related
incidents.
The group has also developed
ground-breaking repairs in
collaboration with the company
DML, and its analysis of inspection
strategies has been proved to
save costs, while improving safety
and quality. Platform
decommissioning and removal is
a growing area of work.
To continue PSN’s market leading
position, new graduates joining
the Advanced Integrity group are
selected from only the best
candidates among the leading UK
and international universities.
Mohammad has recently recruited
graduates from the internationally
renowned University of Tehran,
who have contributed greatly to
the group. These graduates are
attracted to PSN because of the
challenging work we have to offer,
and our ability to enable them to
put their superior skills to use.
PSN Central Engineering ensures
that the network can absorb
unplanned increases in workload,
allowing the main contracts to
deliver their core projects.
Central Engineering
Dennis McRobbie
Central Engineering Project Manager
T: +44(0)1224 763050
E: [email protected]
Duncan Barrie
Central Engineering Project Engineer
T: +44(0)1224 763059
E: [email protected]
Central Studies
George Budge
Senior Project Manager - Engineering
T: +44(0)1224 777162
E: [email protected]
Advanced Integrity
PSN’s Advanced Integrity group
brings its customers specialist
expertise in highly sophisticated
analysis techniques, inspection
support, defect assessment, and
legislative compliance. Dr.
Mohammad Nabavian leads the
group and is also the structural
technical authority for a number
of platforms in the North Sea and
internationally, a role that gives
him a great insight into the needs
of our customers.
needs, by increasing the
smoothness with which we can
move work around the network.
This elite group of integrity
specialists are part of PSN
because they like a challenge and
because our customers appreciate
how they meet those challenges.
The group is proud of its cultural
diversity, and comprise of
engineers from Iran, Pakistan,
Malaysia, China and the UK all
working in harmony. From this
multicultural team the group
contains 6 PhDs, 11 MSCs,
numerous BEngs and Chartered
status engineers.
Provision of this high-end support
from a leading global contractor
is a real differentiator for PSN in
the market place.
David Brown
Lead Process Engineer
T: +44(0)1224 777737
E: [email protected]
Advanced Integrity
Mohammad Nabavian
Chief Engineer - AEIG
T: +44(0)1224 777191
E: [email protected]
John Moses
Structural Engineer
T: +44(0)1224 777707
E: [email protected]
17
Broadening horizons…
...Australia to Aberdeen and back again
Grant Newberry, project engineer in Melbourne, Australia
recently enjoyed a 14 month secondment to the Aberdeen
office. We hear about his experience in Scotland and why he
is looking forward to his next overseas assignment.
View of Melbourne city
Skye on the west coast of Scotland
Network: How did the opportunity to work in Aberdeen come up?
N: Did you get involved with any sports, social or community events?
Grant Newberry: I had mentioned to my boss here in Melbourne
that I was keen to work overseas. Through his contacts in the Aberdeen
office he arranged for it to happen.
GN: I joined a cricket club and played with them for the best part of
two seasons. Being new in the area it gave me an opportunity to
socialise with people outside of work.
N: How different did you find it working in Aberdeen?
N: Would you like to work in any other PSN office in the future?
GN: Most of the differences I experienced were due to a change in
client as much as a change in office. In general the technical side of
things is very similar, however because of the larger scale of things
in the North Sea, I was dealing with issues, budgets and physical sizes
of a much greater scale than in Melbourne.
GN: Absolutely! I really enjoyed my time in Aberdeen and strongly
believe that is was a valuable experience for both myself and the
company. The exposure I gained and things I learnt during my 14
months in Aberdeen would have been difficult to achieve in Melbourne.
Hopefully I have been able to bring some of that back to the Melbourne
office.
N: What were the highlights?
GN: From a work point of view, it was definitely being offshore for
the commissioning of the produced water handling unit I was the
project engineer for. Although that was probably a lowlight too. We
experienced some unforeseeable problems during commissioning, and
my three day trip offshore turned into a three week marathon. But,
we eventually got everything working well, and the client was happy!
On a more personal level, I made a lot of great friends, and miss
spending time with them now I’m back in Melbourne.
N: Did you have an opportunity to do any sight seeing when you were
in Scotland?
GN: Yes, heaps! I was lucky enough to travel quite extensively around
Scotland during my time there. It’s such a beautiful country, there
always seemed to be something else to see, and there is plenty I
didn’t get to. The highlights were definitely Edinburgh, and Orkney,
although the Isle of Skye and the highlands were fantastic also. Being
in such close proximity to the rest of Europe, I used some of my time
off to do some sightseeing there as well.
18
N: How has your experience with PSN been so far?
GN: As with almost any job, it has had its ups and downs, but in
general I have had a great time. I love to face a challenge head on,
and my roles within PSN have provided plenty of them.
I would like to think that I will still be working for PSN in five years.
In the future I hope to get the opportunity to work within another
PSN office and bring back that further experience into a management
role in the Melbourne office.
I’d happily recommend PSN to others - the opportunities and challenges
offered here are fantastic.
Two very different
operations, one common
success story
A 235m long vessel and fluoro hydrocarbon manufacturing facility.
These are two operations which couldn’t
be more different but share one very
envious position. The Anasuria Floating
Production Storage and Offloading vessel
and the Ineos Fluor plant have just
celebrated ten and eleven years lost time
incident free respectively.
Article written by Morag Wood, PSN HSE manager
Anasuria images kindly supplied by Ian Pettigrew
e are extremely proud to share in the success of these achievements and our involvement in
their success. Both operate in challenging conditions undergoing major shutdown and
maintenance activities in hazardous environments. Although the operations differ considerably
in their challenges, both are supported by the commitment of dedicated teams of professional personnel
who succeed in achieving our top priority of not harming anyone.
By sharing our successes and learning from our incidents and near incidents we are building a sound
foundation of improving performance. Both the Ineos site and Anasuria FPSO prove that operation with
serious incident is not only possible but sustainable in the long term.
Both operations put their success down to being an integrated team who actively operate as one unit who
know each other, care about each other and doing the job safely.
The deck of the Anasuria
A brief comparison
Success
Operated by
Location
Plant
Description
Came on line
Products
PSN
Personnel
Involvement
Ineos Fluor
Anasuria
11 years lost time incident free
10 years lost time incident free
Ineos Fluor
Shell U.K. Limited
Runcorn, Cheshire, England
109 miles east of Aberdeen in the
North Sea in 90m of water
Commissioned in 1990, a modern
plant producing bulk volumes of
refrigerants and propellants which
are non ozone depleting
A Floating Production Storage and
Offloading (FPSO) vessel storing
up to 850,000 barrels in seven
cargo tanks. Receives from the
Teal South and Guillemot fields.
Formerly owned by ICI, was
opened in 1990
The vessel was designed and
constructed by Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries (MHI) in Nagasaki and
came on line in October 1996
Production of fluorocarbons
products for refrigerant and
medical purposes, for example,
propellants for inhalers.
Oil production stored and
transferred by shuttle tanker for
processing onshore. Gas
transferred via the Fulmar gas
line to St Fergus Terminal in
Peterhead.
A core team providing integrated
maintenance support to the site
during routine operation and shutdown activities.
A fully integrated team of around
45 people on board employed by
Shell and Sigma3 (PSN’s joint
venture partner)
At PSN we take a lot of pride in our health safety and environmental
performance and each year apply for to Royal Society of Prevention
of Accidents. We were successful in achieving the (RoSPA) Gold Award
this year which is given in recognition and celebration of four consecutive
years of excellent health and safety performance throughout the
company.
Also, the Anasuria team were successful at RoSPA and received the
Gold Medal Award, a prestigious prize reserved for operations who
have successfully achieved five consecutive Gold Awards. Many
congratulations to the team and we hope to meet them once again
at the awards ceremony next year.
As a business we report monthly on our health, safety and environmental
performance, and yes, we need to report on our incidents and learning
from them but we prefer to focus on the good work being done at
corporate, assignment and site level to prevent harm to our people,
equipment and the environment. We call these leading indicators,
they include the leadership visits conducted, new start inductions
undertaken, observations and interventions received. It’s only by us
all taking time to get involved in health and safety initiatives and
activities, can we expect to achieve the unprecedented successes
celebrated by Ineos Fluor and Anasuria.
By getting involved in an inspection, helping with a new start induction,
intervening in a safe or unsafe act you are contributing to our safe
future.
The Inoes Fluor plant at night
19
Talented
professionals in
the making
This year we welcomed 100
new graduates and trainees
to the business. They are
joining PSN from a variety of
disciplines including design,
process, mechanical,
structural, electrical and
safety engineers, as
well as a number of
business graduates
to support our
contract
administration and
project controls
functions.
e talked to some of the newcomers about why they chose
PSN and what their experience has been so far. Here’s
what they had to say:
What attracted you to PSN?
Douglas: After attending the
HR presentation at my university
I decided PSN would be a good
company to work for because of
the opportunities it could offer
me, such as the graduate training
scheme, the option to work
overseas and the chance to gain
offshore experience.
Shaun: I was attracted to PSN
due to the company focus on
recruiting and developing
graduates; I felt that PSN would
give me the best opportunities to
progress and develop as a
competent engineer.
Gareth: The main attractions of
PSN were the type and variety of
projects I could become involved
in, combined with an excellent
training scheme to continue my
development as an engineer and
assist me in working towards
gaining chartered status.
How have you found working
for PSN so far?
Douglas: I do think that the
professional but relaxed and
friendly atmosphere comes
across. The people I have met so
far have been welcoming and
helpful getting me settled in, as
well as assisting me with some
of the tasks that I have taken on
already.
Shaun: I’ve enjoyed my time so
far with PSN, working within a
friendly and supportive
atmosphere. I feel I’ve gained a
larger insight into the role of an
electrical engineer, and already
I’ve been given many
opportunities to get hands on
experience.
Gareth: So far I’ve found my
time with PSN challenging and
rewarding. There was a lot of
concentrated learning when I first
joined but this quickly led to active
involvement on a very interesting
project. My colleagues are easy
to get along with and there is a
good atmosphere in the
department which makes the
work and settling in a lot more
pleasant.
Left: The business services graduates
and their mentors look forward to a
bright future with PSN.
Front: Douglas Cox, associate instrumentation engineer
Back: Shaun Tudor, associate electrical engineer
Right: Gareth Lindsay, associate structural engineer
First students sign up for PSN
Design Academy
e were delighted to
welcome the inaugural
class of 20 students to
the new PSN Design Academy in
September. The Design Academy
will train electrical and
instrumentation, structural and
piping design trainees, providing
accelerated professional
development. This innovative
skills solution provides
opportunities for students to
achieve a SVQ Level 3 qualification
in Drafting and Design through
the Modern Apprenticeship
initiative.
John Kearney, PSN technical
director commented, “Designers
make an invaluable contribution
to developing our oil and gas
facilities and we are committed
to training 20 students a year
through our Design Academy.
Added to over 50 graduates that
recently joined us, PSN has made
a bold commitment to the future
of oil and gas.”
The initiative has received
widespread praise from the
industry. Bill Murray, Offshore
Contractors Association (OCA)
chief executive said, "Providing
high quality training for people
who want to join the oil and gas
industry is a vital part of the OCA's
role. We are delighted that OCA
member company PSN has
developed yet another
groundbreaking training project.
The training provided as part of
the PSN Design Academy will benefit the
industry as a whole. We look forward to
working closely with PSN and other member
companies to develop further opportunities
for people looking to adapt their existing
skills and join the Energy sector." Blair
Barclay, ECITB accounts manager added,
“PSN has taken another progressive step
forward to develop skilled apprentices. We
are delighted to support PSN to achieve its
aim of developing innovative solutions to
industry skills gaps.”
Joining PSN means I can earn a wage straight away while still developing
my education. I don’t know anyone who works in the oil and gas industry but
the mechatronics course I studied at Murray College sparked a passion for
design. I’m nervous about this fresh start as it means moving away from home
but I can’t wait to get started.
Anna Carswell, associate E&I designer
20
Dedicated to
development
With people at the heart of our business, we continue to
focus on developing skills, knowledge and expertise. Every
year we sponsor colleagues through courses of further
education which contribute to their professional
development. Dee Pearce, a recent graduate, tells us about
her experience over the last six years and how she balanced
the split persona of dedicated student, wife and mother,
and HSE co-ordinator.
owards the end of the
last century (doesn’t that
sound ancient), I was
contemplating where I saw myself
fitting into the new millennium.
Like many of my ‘baby boomer’
generation, as a child I had
missed out on opportunities that
we all take for granted today. So
having weighed up many pros
and cons, I decided it was time
to formally show the world what
I was made of.
In the 16 years since I joined the
company for the BP Bruce project
in Glasgow (February 1990), I
had seen numerous name
changes due to mergers and
decided it was time to change my
own name and add the letters
BSc to my title. With company
sponsorship agreed, I finalised a
six year plan to complete a degree
in Social Sciences. I chose that
subject to learn more about the
complexities of the way people
interact in our social and family
relationships and especially how
we interface in our working lives,
within a multi-cultural global
environment.
So armed with an empty head
and an inquisitive nature (or
should that read an open mind
and sceptical objectivity), I signed
up with the UK’s Open University
(OU) for my first Level 1 course
“An Introduction to the Social
Sciences - Understanding Social
Change.”
As the new millennium opened
for business, the gentle Level 1
start was also a useful shakedown
to get me back into student life,
after an absence of %$ years
(strange that, my keyboard just
won’t behave). It also introduced
me to many of the basic learning
skills and data assimilation
processes that would underpin
my studies.
Having finished year five in
October 2004, we postponed our
holiday and that same month I
launched straight into year six.
Being a seasoned student by now,
I rather rashly chose to undertake
two half courses in parallel. The
subjects were “Data, Computing
So armed with an empty head and an
inquisitive nature (or should that read an
open mind and sceptical objectivity), I signed
up with the UK’s Open University (OU) for
my first Level 1 course
Let’s not kid ourselves, Year 1
was a ‘Nightmare on Oak, Pine
and Elm Streets’, where the dream
hit the buffers and reality became
just that. I persevered with much
support from my friends and
family, and fell out the other end
of the course well mauled but
smiling. But I was bitten by the
OU bug and Year 2 in Social Policy
- Welfare, power and diversity,
quickly followed.
In hindsight, years 3, 4 and 5
seemed to flash by. In truth,
there were shall we say frequent
“moments of tension”, usually on
a scale of 10 through 27,999 all
of which are now best left in the
mists of time. Along the way,
each stage delivered interim
rewards in the form of specific
sub-topic certificates and
diplomas.
and Information” and “You, your
computer and the net”. These
required me to delve into the
geeky world of data packages,
network protocols, web-site
design (HTML code) and
JavaScript programming –
Whoopee doooo!!! After much
June 2005, I finally hung up my
pencil and crayons ……or so I
thought.
After six years of balancing the
split persona of dedicated student,
wife and mother, whilst holding
down a full-time job, it was worth
the long wait for the all important
overall degree designation. In
December 2005, an envelope
arrived to confirm my 2nd Class
BSc Hons. The whole village
probably heard the screams of
delight. Thus began six months
of paranoia that I would trip and
head across the graduation
ceremony stage like Batman, with
gown a-billowing.
So, earlier this year I found myself
at the Royal Concert Hall at the
end of Sauchiehall Street in my
home city of Glasgow, surrounded
by my family and friends, as I
strode proudly across the stage,
to formally become…..Dee Pearce
BSc. Honours (Social Sciences
with Social Policy) – Yes!!!
holiday. The perfect end to a
long but very satisfying six years
of effort. And for the future, at
work I’m now studying for my
NEBOSH qualification and at home
I’ve signed up for another small
OU course for 2006, just to keep
my hand in you understand
(Human Genetics and Health
Issues).
I am indebted to my family,
friends, work colleagues and
especially to the company, for
their encouragement, faith and
patience in supporting me.
To everyone else who like me
hankers after a dream, it’s never
too late.
For further information on training
at PSN please contact:
Lynne Duncan
PSN training manager
T: +44 1224 777490
E: [email protected]
After six years of balancing the split
persona of dedicated student, wife and
mother, whilst holding down a full-time job,
it was worth the long wait for the all
important overall degree designation.
angst, late nights, a few curses
(quite a few) and many glazed
looks, I crawled out the other end
as an apparent IT ‘expert’ and in
Afterwards we all adjourned to a
small Italian restaurant to sample
the food and wine, and the
following day, my husband and I
flew to Mauritius to relax on
21
Our House – PSN’s DPC team
takes a family approach to safety
by Faik Babayev, HSEQ advisor
The PSN onshore team working at the Dubai Petroleum
Company (DPC) Jebel Ali Operations Support Base (JAOSB),
are proud of their recent HSE milestones and attribute their
success to an HSE initiative called ‘Our House’.
he concept of Our
House is that
everyone who works
for DPC has the same rights and
responsibilities,” says Faik
Babayev, PSN HSEQ advisor. “It
empowers every employee and
contractor to look after each other
as a family member and be
accountable for our actions. All
members of the PSN team take
the safety aspect of his or her
work personally, and expect the
same from the others in Our
House. Introduction of the DPC
Our House concept boosted the
personal commitment and reenergised ownership for what we
do and how we do things here.”
In September this year, the PSN
onshore team achieved four years,
recordable case free. Given the
diverse and complicated activities
undertaken throughout the years,
this is an outstanding
achievement. The team consists
of experienced mechanical,
electrical and instrumentation and
valve repair technicians, providing
services and support to DPC
offshore operations. They perform
tasks ranging from the repair and
calibration of simple instruments,
to the strip down, repair and
rebuilding of offshore gas
turbines, all types of pumps,
engines, and valves.
On a similar note, the PSN Fateh
and SWF offshore teams on the
DPC project have also celebrated
an incident free working
environment over the last 18
months. This means no first aid
cases, no medical treatment
cases, and no lost workday cases.
Bill Arnold, president of DPC,
congratulated PSN’s team on this
achievement and said in his
message: “This is great news and
a significant accomplishment.
These types of milestones don't
just happen; they require a lot of
hard work and commitment from
a dedicated workforce…my
sincere congratulations to each
team member….I really appreciate
your help in getting DPC injury
free.”
“There’s been a lot of hard work
put in by DPC and ourselves to
make this possible. The DPC Our
House concept is setting the
standard for others to follow, and
has been a major enabling factor
in our achievement. We will not
rest on our past performance, nor
become complacent about the
risks we face every day, but focus
on how to maintain our record
with DPC to secure another
incident free year,” said Steve
Mutch, PSN assignment manager
for the DPC project.
Faik adds, “Every single PSN
employee who came to work on
the DPC project went home safely
to their homes and their loved
ones. Congratulations to PSN
JAOSB and offshore teams for
the achievement!…at DPC we say,
“This is a journey not a
destination…”
The team proudly displays certificates for acheiving the milestone
This is great news and a
significant accomplishment.
These types of milestones don't
just happen; they require a lot of
hard work and commitment from
a dedicated workforce
Bill Arnold, president of DPC
Every single PSN employee
who came to work on the DPC
project went home safely to their
homes and their loved ones.
Congratulations to PSN JAOSB
and offshore teams for the
achievement!
Faik Babayev, HSEQ advisor
Employees ‘wear it pink’
Employees in Aberdeen raised around £1,600 for charity by
wearing an item of pink clothing to work, to participate in the
UK national Breast Cancer Campaign.
reast Cancer Campaign is the only charity that specialises in
funding independent breast cancer research throughout the
UK. It aims to find the cure for breast cancer by funding research
which looks at improving diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer,
better understanding how it develops and ultimately either curing the
disease or preventing it.
Dee Pearce, PSN HSE co-ordinator organised our involvement
in the campaign and told Network, “There was a lot of
dressing up, pink hair and balloons - some projects
even sold pink cakes and doughnuts! What a great
bunch of people work here.”
22
R
Helping local sports project get
its skates on
Work to build a multimillion-pound extreme sports centre in
the north-east of Scotland is well under way, following on from
a recent £25K sponsorship injection from PSN. The extreme
sports centre which will be complete in March 2007 will
encompass a huge indoor skateboard and BMX park, basketball
court, dramatic climbing centre and recreation area featuring
pool tables, DJ equipment, band practice rooms, video and an
internet room.
he centre will contribute
to major health, sport,
safety, anti crime, anti
drug and other youth initiatives,
and create seven full-time and
26 part-time jobs - with a
particular emphasis on hiring
young people who have a passion
for extreme sports. PSN will
sponsor the visitor centre, which
profiles all the great extreme and
outdoor recreation opportunities
in Grampian.
Duncan Skinner, PSN chief financial officer and Neil Stevenson of Transition,
review the plans and progress at site
PSN chief financial officer, Duncan
Skinner, said: "We are delighted
to support Transition's extreme
West Highland Way walk
Mike Meen, programme manager, raised over £1,000
for Raeden Centre, by completing the West Highland
Way walk in Scotland this summer. The Raeden Centre
is an assessment and treatment centre for pre-school
children with suspected or known physical disability,
developmental delay or behavioural problems.
Rob Roy Way
Mike and his son present the cheque
Douglas Dey, senior time keeper walked 92 miles,
completing the Rob Roy Way in Scotland over a course
of six days to raise £1,400 for Friends
of the Special Nursery, an organisation
that provides essential care to sick
newborn babies.
Sigma3 team ‘walk to cure
diabetes’
Employees on the Sigma3 team raised
over £4,000 for Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation (JDRF) by
completing a five mile walk in
Aberdeen in September.
sports centre as we share its
visionary sense of adventure. With
global headquarters based in
Aberdeen, we are particularly
proud to support the visitor centre
as it showcases the region's
numerous attractions, recreation
facilities and adventure sports".
Mr Stevenson, chief executive,
Transition Extreme Sports Limited
said he was "thrilled" that PSN
had decided to support the
venture. “The sponsorship from
PSN was a major boost to our
fundraising efforts and added
further credibility to the project
and its charitable and community
aims. It was particularly pleasing
that PSN chose to align with the
visitor centre and assist us in
promoting healthy lifestyles and
the fantastic leisure and outdoor
recreation opportunities available
in Grampian. We expect Transition
to draw many visitors to the area,
benefiting the local economy and
many smaller companies and rural
communities involved in outdoor
and adventure sports."
Putting their
best foot
forward
Committed PSN employees have
walked almost 400 miles in the last
few months, raising over £6,000 for
local charities.
Douglas presents his cheque to the special nursery
JDRF is dedicated to funding research
to find a cure for type 1 diabetes, a
condition that strikes children suddenly, makes them insulin dependent for life and carries the constant
threat of devastating complication.
The team comprised 40 walkers,
including employees, their family
and friends, and was part of a
Shell initiative to raise £200,000
to help with diabetes. Greg Hill,
vice president of production for
Shell Exploration & Production in
Europe praised all the participants
in the group saying, “Your
commitment to JDRF and the
walk has been wonderful. Thank
you for stepping out and
supporting our fight to find a cure
for diabetes.”
Some of the team from Sigma3 who walked for JDRF
23
Core Values
Our core values are the guiding principles under which we operate. Faced with difficult decisions, we choose options
that best meet our core values.
Health & Safety
The health and safety of our people is our greatest responsibility. This makes it our top priority with no
room for compromise.
Safety is at the heart of everything we do: the way we plan, the way we prepare, and the way we work. This goes
beyond simply following rules and regulations. Our passion for safety extends to everyone who may be affected by
our activities. We are proud of our reputation for health and safety yet we are never complacent and look for ways
to improve. Learning from others is as important as sharing our own lessons with our peers.
We expect every one of our people to be a leader in health and safety. It is everyone’s responsibility to assess, look
for, intervene and stop any unsafe or potentially unsafe activity. Anyone who steps in to prevent a potential accident
will be fully supported by the Company. To watch an unsafe act and do nothing is unacceptable.
People
Our people are our business - we treat each other with honesty, compassion and respect. Our people are
our main business asset and their skills make us better than our competitors.
We treat people fairly and reward them competitively - this goes a long way to attracting the best people and retaining
the excellent people we already have.
We value an open culture where people are prepared to give and receive constructive feedback. We encourage people
to contribute ideas that improve the business - we want everyone to be part of the team. We want to be thought of
as professional, the best at what we do and focussed on delivery.
Everyone in our organisation is part of a worldwide network of skills, talent and experience, and is encouraged to use
that network.
Localisation
We nurture local businesses and skills to encourage sustainable community development. Through our
network of expertise and experience, we bring value to the communities where we work. We draw on
lessons learned and best practices from all over the world.
We recruit and train local people who enrich our global network by bringing their experience, culture and diversity into
our business.
We are committed to achieving high local content wherever we operate. We justify this investment with the ongoing
successes that can be seen in our people, projects, and the communities where we work.
We work with our customers, contractors, partners and suppliers to improve the efficiency of our operations by conserving
resources, reducing waste and emissions, and preventing environmental pollution.
Innovation
We actively look for better ways of doing things, never satisfied with “good enough”. Our culture
encourages people to collaborate, share ideas across our network and learn from each other. We recognise
that not all innovations succeed but we test ideas quickly and learn early without taking large risks.
Our people are at the core of innovation. Applying ideas that improve tools, processes, and systems only work because
our people have the skills and attitudes that embrace innovation and keep it moving forward.
Relationships
Strong relationships with our customers are vital to our business. We nurture these relationships to
understand what our customers want and how we can best deliver it. We expect everyone to contribute in
building positive customer relationships.
We welcome candid feedback from our clients - good and bad – because it helps us to improve and stay focussed on
what customers need. We recognise that a customer’s perception is their reality, so we must take the time and have
empathy to understand an issue from their viewpoint.
While it is good to be "liked" - it is more important that we are respected for our focus on safety, professionalism, and
our integrity.
Financial Responsibility
We expect to receive fair reward for our business performance. Consequently, we expect to be paid on
time just as we expect to pay our suppliers and sub-contractors on time.
We carefully manage financial risk and demand clear reporting of financial performance in our business.
Our business strategy is based on steady growth by selecting only those jobs we can deliver safely and make a profit.
Integrity
We act openly and with honesty - our code of ethics sets the minimum standard for our behaviour. People
have different moral and ethical values - we respect this and set our own minimum standards which all
our employees must follow.
We will ensure that all of our operational activities comply with applicable local rules, regulations and other requirements.
We will investigate any ethical violations or complaints and take appropriate action.
Our long-term reputation depends on doing the right thing within these core values - even if it adversely affects our
business prospects in the short-term.
Back cover image: Egyptian calendar at the Crocodile Temple
See page 8, Breathing new life