PRCI

Newsroom

October 17, 2011

Petrobras Hosts Board Meeting in Brazil & Coordinates PRCI Support to Rio Pipeline Conference

PRCI would like to thank Pedro Altoé Ferreira, PRCI Board Member from Petrobras, and his staff for hosting and sponsoring the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors in Rio de Janeiro on September 19-20, 2011. The group enjoyed a tour of Petrobras’ impressive R&D Center (CENPES) and attended numerous social events embracing Brazilian culture. Petrobras’ efforts were invaluable in coordinating PRCI’s participation in the Rio Pipeline Conference held September 20-22, 2011 which was attended by over 20 PRCI Board members and staff, in addition to numerous other member company representatives.

The Rio Pipeline Conference was attended by more than 1,300 delegates, included over 150 exhibitors, and featured strong technical tracks. PRCI supported the conference with Cliff Johnson, PRCI President, providing a presentation during the closing session on Pipeline Technology Trends with a discussion ofthe future of collaborative pipeline R&D, “Collaborative Research Addressing Pipeline Integrity.” The focus of the presentation was the need to develop a global R&D roadmap for all facets of the oil & gas pipeline industry (onshore, offshore, and facilities). He stated that the first meeting to begin developing the roadmap was going to be held in Houston on December 7-8, 2011 and the focus for the meeting will be to develop the onshore pipeline component of the document. Additional meetings will be held over the next 12 to 24 months to complete the onshore roadmap and to focus on developing the other parts of the roadmap. Once it is complete, the goal is for it to be the industry wide roadmap and the central coordination point for all future R&D efforts. This effort will only work with a wide cross section of the industry and the R&D communities from around the world. Also presenting during the closing plenary session was Pedro Altoé Ferreira who addressed the specific challenges of Petrobras as the company continues to grow and take on new frontiers in the energy industry and the role of R&D in helping shape and guide the growth process. In addition, Mark Piazza, Sr. Program Manager for PRCI chaired a session on Subsea Pipeline Technology.

While in Rio, PRCI opened a discussion with CTDUT, a non-profit research organization, about developing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on R&D. A number of PRCI Board Members and Staff was able to tour the CTDUT facilities and gain a greater appreciation of their capabilities. CTDUT is currently adding to their research center facilities and has volunteered to work with PRCI and its members to ensure that they are able to address the needs of the industry more fully. We hope to have the MOU signed by the end of the year. Arthur Braga, CTDUT Executive Director, will give a presentation at the Pipeline Technical Committee meetings next week in New York on their program and how they can be a resource for PRCI and its members. This is a great opportunity to strengthen the research resources for PRCI.

Of special note, Mr. Cesar Buque, Technical Exchange Director for PRCI Member Company Applus RTD, received the Calgary Award, which is presented to the Best Paper presented at the Rio Pipeline Conference. Mr. Buque was presented with the award during the closing ceremonies for his presentation on the application of 3-dimensional ultrasound technology for pipeline inspection. As the award recipient, Mr. Buque will attend and present the paper at the International Pipeline Conference and Exhibition in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in September 2012.

Return to the Newsroom Front Page

For More Information

Contact PRCI via (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).