UK: London to Host Meteocean Awareness Course

The effects of meteorology and oceanography (metocean) have a major impact on design and operations for all offshore industries – marine renewables, and offshore oil and gas.

If users of metocean information are not aware of the implications that the weather, waves, currents and water levels can have on their operations or design work, then things can go wrong with serious health and safety and economic consequences.

The Metocean Awareness Courses organised by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) and the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) have gained a global reputation. There are just a few places left for the London course being held 30 October – 1 November, and prospective delegates are urged to register as fast as possible to avoid disappointment.

The three-day course is aimed at all who need to have a greater understanding of metocean conditions worldwide and how they might impact the effectiveness of their work. In addition to London these courses have been held in Houston, Kuala Lumpur, Perth (Australia) and Singapore, demonstrating the international demand for each course.

 “Each course has at its heart a mixture of short presentations by expert speakers in the field and interactive workshop sessions, including a group case study exercise,” explains IMarEST Senior Technical Manager, Dr Bev MacKenzie. “Our experts reflect the area in which the course is being held, and work actively in the industry, which ensures that course content is not only relevant but highly topical and can make use of regional examples. Our course members not only enjoy networking with each other, but the close relationship they build up over the three days with these experts.”

Experts taking part in the London course are

• Dr Mark Calverley, who has worked in a metocean service company, mainly supporting the oil and gas industry, for the past 20 years;
• Dr Chris Graham, a metocean engineering consultant recently retired from Shell with over 40 years’ experience in the offshore business;
• Dr Colin Grant the technical authority for metocean in BP;
• Dr Gus Jeans whose 18 years as a professional oceanographer include managing a UK-based metocean consultancy team, before becoming an independent consultant;
• Ian Leggett, a metocean consultant recently retired from Shell after 30 years;
• Trevor Pitt who is currently the manager of weather services in the UK for a metocean services company;
• Professor Ralph Rayner who has worked in metocean data collection and modelling for over 30 years;
• and Robin Stephens who is a Senior Advisor in Oceanography and Meteorology also with 30 years’ experience;

A new specialist Jon Upton, Senior Metocean Engineer, Projects and Technology – Project & Engineering Services, Shell International Petroleum Company Limited has joined the expert group for this London course. He has worked in the metocean community for 20 years, spending 13 years as an oceanographer with offshore experience from the Falklands to the Arctic and Gulf of Mexico to the Far East, before becoming a department manager with a multi-national service company. His present role as a metocean engineer for an Oil and Gas major in Aberdeen involves management of metocean data acquisition contracts and derivation of workability statistics and design criteria for projects primarily in the Atlantic Margin and Norway. Jon is a Chartered Scientist and Fellow of the IMarEST.

Places are limited at each course to ensure maximum training opportunity for the project managers and engineers who attend. “They come from the offshore oil and gas and renewables industries and are involved in operations or design, and range from new entrants to the various sectors to those with many years of experience,” adds Dr Bev MacKenzie. “We can assure them of a stimulating and rewarding three days.”

During the course, delegates will learn

• just why metocean is so important to their sector;
• how to engage both internal and external stakeholders about metocean matters;
• explore how the regional metocean conditions around the world impact both operations and engineering design;
• examine how metocean statistics are presented and used;
• understand how weather and ocean forecasts are derived;
• identify the process for obtaining key metocean deliverables;
• and find out where metocean information and advice can be obtained.

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Press release, September 30, 2012; Image: nrlmry