Board Meeting Update

27-28 March 2025 - Tokyo, Japan

The following highlights the main discussions and decisions made during the meeting.

Opening remarks from the President

Yasar Giregiz, IPLOCA Board of Directors President, opened the meeting and conveyed his thanks to Board members for travelling to Tokyo to attend the meeting.

Safety moment

In his presentation, Giovanni Muriana, HSE & CSR Committee Chair, emphasised the importance of mutual respect in the workplace. It is crucial for a positive, healthy and productive work environment where everyone feels valued, supported, and empowered to contribute their best. He concluded by saying that it is worth developing strategies to ensure mutual respect is at the centre of the workplace culture.

Annual Convention

IPLOCA’s Executive Secretary, Georges Hage, informed the Board that an updated version of the Convention Sponsorship Guidelines had been released. At the 2025 Annual Convention in Izmir, Türkiye delegates will be able to choose from cultural tours to Ephesus, Pergamon, Şirince Village, Çeşme, Alaçatı, Izmir City and Urla. The Board was briefed on the speakers selected to give presentations during the Open General Meetings.

HSE & CSR Committee

Giovanni Muriana, HSE & CSR Committee Chair, presented his report. Petrobras’ Edmilson Pinto da Silva, Coordinator of the Risk Analysis Studies Team, had joined the Committee. The next HSE & CSR Workshop will take place in Budapest, Hungary in October 2025. HSE statistics forms were received from all IPLOCA Regular Members last year. Unfortunately, two fatal incidents on worksites had been reported by our members for the year 2023.

The Committee recommends all IPLOCA members adopt behavioural safety programmes, promote near-miss reporting and H&S trainings, and share industry best practices via the IPLOCA Shared Experiences Platform. The Committee’s initiatives include publishing the new tie-in guidelines and developing a mental health programme. The Board decided to set 1 March as the deadline for submitting HSE statistics, starting next year.

Marketing Plan

The Executive Secretary presented IPLOCA’s recently developed marketing plan.

Conventions in 2026 and 2027

Kent Wilfur, Convention & Board Location Project Lead, presented his report. Georges Hage and Convention Manager Isabelle Bourzeix carried out a site visit to Athens, Greece, the host city of the 2026 IPLOCA Convention. Across the Board, there was a consensus that the 2028 Annual Convention should be held in Latin America, rather than Asia.

Energy Transition Committee

Andrew Ball, the Chair of the Energy Transition Committee, presented his report. The Committee holds online meetings every month. Each Committee member is responsible for developing one of the key themes the team is focusing on. Four crucial documents related to the energy transition will be uploaded to the new knowledge hub, IPLOCA Nest.

Innovation Committee

Somaieh Salehpour, the Chair of the Innovation Committee, presented her report. More than 100 people registered for the Novel Construction Spring Session in Palermo, Italy, therefore registration had to be closed earlier than expected. IPLOCA Nest will be introduced to the membership during the Novel Construction Spring Session and officially launched after the event. Access to the platform is a benefit of IPLOCA membership. Jason LaValley presented the work carried out by a very active subgroup within the Innovation Committee, the Skills & Resources group. The team developed creative tools and initiatives that aim to mitigate major, labourrelated problems affecting the industry globally.

Membership & Communication Committee

Marcin Przywara, Membership & Communication Committee Chair, presented his report. The Board unanimously approved the introduction of a new membership category called “New Technology Startup Member.”

To be eligible, a company must have been in operation for a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years. The number of employees must not exceed 30. The company must demonstrate innovation and disruptive technology. Each applicant must be recommended by two Regular Members and approved by the Board. The member will benefit from a 50% discount on the joining and Associate Membership fees for the first five years of membership. After this period, the company must either transition to Associate Membership at the full fee or leave the organisation.

Scholarship Programme

Saji Khoury, the Project Lead, advised the Board that a total of 128 applications had been received and that applications had been closed. IPLOCA will award 12 scholarships in 2025.

NextGen Network

Saji Khoury, the Project Lead, presented the report. 31 young professionals working for 21 different member companies joined the Network so far. Their average age is 31. Seven NextGen members attended the Novel Session in October 2024. The Network conducts online meetings every six weeks, with almost all members attending regularly. The Network will be officially launched at the Annual Convention.

Treasurer’s Report

The Treasurer, Bruno Pomaré, presented the First Quarter 2025 Forecast Report. The Board approved to lower the minimum sponsorship amount for the Novel Session to EUR 1’000

Membership

Eszter Czirjak, IPLOCA Membership Manager, presented the Membership Status report. The following membership applications were approved:

- 5C-Tech GmbH - Associate Member

- Allan Edwards Inc. - Associate Member

- CRTS Global - Associate Member

- EURETEQ - Associate Member

- ITP Interpipe - Associate Member

- National Basics Company Inc. - Regular Member

- Sawyer Mfg Company - Associate Member

- Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC)Academic Member

- United Pipeline Systems Inc. - Associate Member

Yasar and Ayse Giregez with our hosts at Shiba Tofuya Ukai