09 February 2022, a webinar on « Points to consider in the selection of oil spill booms » was organized in cooperation with VIKOMA; MOIG member, via electronic conferencing platform.
This webinar was presented by Paul Rayner, Sales Director from VIKOMA and Houcine Mejri; MOIG Director.
The event gathered representatives from oil and gas industry as well as authorities from the Mediterranean region and Europe.
Houcine Mejri started by welcoming participants and presented the main objectives of this webinar which were to share knowledge on what to consider in the selection of oil spill booms and also to promote an interactive Q&A sessions between participants. He underlined that this webinar will be useful for MOIG members and will help them in the completion of the Oil Spill Response equipments database displayed in MOIG website – Under member area during the last quarter 2021.
Paul Rayner started by giving an overview about VIKOMA, the history, the accreditation system in place and the services provided in the design, development, sales, manufacturing, installation, commissioning and training on spill response equipments. He then presented all the components of an oil spill booms and their applications such as the emergency response. He also described some basic characteristics to considerer in an oil spill booms, for example: Safety, simplicity, ease of use and cleaning as well as towing, oil containment efficiency compatibility with other booms systems, weight, and resistance to oil/salt/fresh water /UV light an abrasion and salt.
Paul Rayner also presented many types of oil spill booms such as fence, air filled, foam filled, self inflating, shoreline sealing, POD, fire, debris and chemical resist. He explained the main characteristics of each boom highlighting both positive and negative points. He then described the type of materials, connectors and storage of oil spill booms and a list of considerations to be taken into account such as: Safe and ease of use, weight, strength, size, portability, resistance, cost, cleaning, training and maintenance requirements. He also described some repair methods of oil spill booms based on using cold glue, hot air, mechanical seals and stick patches.
We were very delighted with the outcome of this webinar, participants raised many questions related to ideal size for offshore boom, sea conditions for booming operations, type of boom connectors, storage of booms, maintenance etc..which represented a clear sign of interest from the oil and gas industry in the Mediterranean region to oil spill response booms. This webinar was also a tremendous opportunity for VIKOMA and MOIG to strengthen their relationship that will pave the way for future cooperation.
The Management Committee would like to express its sincere thanks to VIKOMA and particularly to Paul Rayner for his professionalism and the high quality of the presentation provided on oil spill booms contributing in the success of this webinar.