The 7th APCE was officiated by En. Mohd Rashid M Yusof, the Vice President of Supply Chain and Risk Management, PETRONAS, who delivered the welcoming remarks. In his welcoming remarks, En. Rashid stressed on the importance of the pipeline industry to to respond to the many challenges and proposed several measures which can help the oil companies mitigate the problems and challenges which arise as a result of weaker crude oil and gas demand and softer prices.

En. Mohd Rashid also suggested that oil & gas companies should also be prudent and to look for ways to reduce operating and production cost. He said, maybe it is timely now for the oil & gas companies to revisit some of the cost reduction initiatives, such as : “borrow and return” of major parts and equipment; common warehousing of stocks and parts; bulk production or purchasing of commonly used consumables and products; and even specialized skills training of manpower.

The keynote address was delivered by En. Anuar Taib, the Chairman of Shell Malaysia. In his address, En. Anuar talked about the importance of pipeline within the oil & gas industry as the most reliable and effective means of transporting natural gas products over great distances; be it crude, gas or refined products. According to En. Anuar, a pipeline, in its basic nature, is a pressurized vessel to keep hydrocarbon products in-place during transit. While the majority of these pipelines are within country boundaries, more and more pipelines are built crossing many borders providing both opportunity for economic connectivity between nations but also challenges in the form of standards, design, construction and maintenance of these pipelines.

En. Anuar also shared with all present on the current length of pipelines in service globally and locally, which is close to 2 million km and 9,500 km respectively, whereby a significant portion of these pipelines have been in service for more than 15 years.

He also stressed on the importance of conformity to the increasing expectations, scrutiny and requirements coming from the governments, neighbours, media, general public and stakeholders for the industry to demonstrate the ability to assure them that the industry players are able to design, construct, maintain and repair the pipelines with minimal impact to the environment and their livelihood.

Closing his speech, En. Anuar requested everyone present in the conference room to spend some time to ponder on the following questions:
1.If you are an operator/ industry player,
•How many pipelines are there in your sphere of influence?
•Do you know how many of those pipelines are unpiggable?
•Do you know the integrity status of those pipelines?
•Have you allocated sufficient resources to monitor and maintain those pipelines well?
•Do you have enough expertise to help you assure yourselves?
•Do you have capabilities and resources available to deal with untowards incidents in your area?

2.And if you are a regulator,
•Do you know what are the standards that pipelines in your area are being installed and maintained to?
•Are you comfortable with the number of standards?
•Are you confident that the operator and industry players do what they say they would do?
•Are you confident that the industry players and you have the capability to deal with any unto-wards incident in your area?

An excellent array of local and international speakers shared their experience, thoughts and expertise in their respective fields, in line with the theme. Over the two days, a wide range of pipeline topics were shared, covering design, development and operational issues with active participation by delegates during the question and answer sessions.

More than 60 participants, including invited speakers and guests, attended the conference this year, supported by the exhibitors namely Innovative Oilfield Services, ROSEN Asia Pacific, Clock Spring, PetroMin, PBJV Group, GASEX 2012 and WGC 2012.

The following distinguished speakers and session chairmen were invited to share their views during the conference:

•Mr. David Mullins, PFC Energy KL Regional Office – Outlook for Asia-Pacific Economy and Energy Implications on Region’s Pipeline Industry.
•Mr. Wong Seng Kee, Shell Malaysia – Overcoming Challenges in Pipelines.
•Mr. Mohd Amin Abdullah, PETRONAS Carigali – An Integrated Approach to Managing Integrity of Offshore Pipelines.
•Mr. Rolf Gunnar Lie, TD Williamson Asia Pacific Pty. Ltd. – Malampaya Gas Export Line Valve Replacement Using Remote Controlled Plugging Technology.
•Mr. Vikas Saraswat, Indian Oil Corporation Limited – Use of Solar Water Heaters for Pre Heating Crude Oil in Pipelines.
•Mr. Abu Fitri A Jalil, PMU PETRONAS – Overcoming Challenges in Pipelines.
•Mr. Christophe Dieumegard, Technip Geoproduction – Deepwater Pipeliners and Risers –A Discussion of the Technical Challenges and Solutions.
•Dr. Leong Kok Hoong, PETRONAS Research & Scientific Bhd – Development of Overwrap Composite Repairs for Pipeline Applications.
•Dr Michael Magerstaedt, ROSEN Swiss AG – Overcoming Challenges in Pipeline Cleaning.
•Mr. Harry Macpherson, PENSPEN Limited – Overcoming Challenges in Pipelines.
•Dr. Hamzah Abd Hamid, PETRONAS Research & Scientific – Pipeline Technology – Onshore & Offshore, session 1.
•Mr. Uji Subroto, PGN – Advances in Pipeline Operations.
•Dr. Yong Bai, Offshore Pipeline & Risers Inc, P.R. China – Recent Developments in Offshore Pipeline Integrity Management.
•Mr. Jim Constain, GE Energy – The Role of Inspection During the Lifetime of A Pipeline – An Overview of Recent Technology Advances.
•Mr. Nan Yusri Nan Rahimy, DELEUM Berhad – Pipeline Technology – Onshore & Offshore, session 2.
•Mr. Ian Partridge, TWI Services – Summary of Research Results from TWI Core Research Program in the Area of Pipeline.
•Mr. Darren Looi, Clock Spring L.P – Long Term Durabililty of Clock Springs Repairs – Recent Removals and Examinations.
•Ir. M Ashri Mustapha, PETRONAS Carigali – Managing Pipeline Integrity by Touchless Inspection Tool – A Breakthrough Inspection Tool for Unpiggible Pipeline.
•Datuk Dr. Zainal Abidin Hj Kasim, UTP/ITPSB – Pipeline Technology, session 3.
•Mr. Paul O’Connel, JP Kenny – Overcoming the Challenges During the Planning, Design, Construction and Operations Phases of a Pipeline Project.
•Mr. Amar Umap, Global Industries Ltd. – Building a Deepwater Pipe Lay Vessel in Budget and on Time.
•Ir.Mohd Nasahie Akbar Ali & Mr. Mohd Nasri Ahmad, PETRONAS Gas Berhad – 8” PGU I Butane Relocation Project – The Challenges.
•Datuk (Dr.) Abdul Rahim Hashim, MGA & IGU – Development in Pipeline Technology – Implications on Overcoming Challenges in Pipelines.

The organizers would like to thank the sponsors, namely PETRONAS and WGC 2012, and look forward to more support and participation in the future conferences.