News & events

In the period from November 22 to 23, 2023 in Istanbul (Turkey) were held events within the framework of the twentieth meeting of the Governing Board of the International Association of Oil Transporters (IAOT). The meeting and other events were attended by representatives of all member-companies.

Restrictions on travelling and other sanctions made it impossible for members and observers to meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Annual Pipeline Technology Conference is one of the main events in the industry of pipeline transportation and storage. Year to year PTC collects more and more people from the operators of oil, products, gas and petrochemical pipeline systems. As this event is fully dedicated to the pipeline transportation, the Association became the regular participant.

The activities of the association in the first half of 2022 were significantly affected by geopolitical situation and measures taken by governments and individual companies. Restrictions on travelling and other sanctions made it impossible for members and observers to meet in Minsk, Belarus.

The meeting in Prague is conceived as an annual educational seminar for specialists and middle technical management.

Annual Pipeline Technology Conference is one of the main events in the industry of pipeline transportation and storage. Year to year PTC collects more and more people from the operators of oil, products, gas and petrochemical pipeline systems. As this event is fully dedicated to the pipeline transportation, the Association became the supporter of Pipeline Technology Conference and took part with own stand in order to raise awareness of the Association in a broader context. We will deepen its participation in the future iterations.

The conference was opened from Kralupy nad Vltavou by Mr. Marcel Kalakaj, Member of the Board of and Financial General of MERO CR, who chairs the IAOT. The participants listened to a report on the activities of the association in this year. They appreciated the continuing activities of the permanent expert groups in the format of online meetings and results of the IAOT Centre of Excellence being held in person in autumn in Prague. The participants supported the intention of the association to continue mutual consultations on current topics. The representatives of the companies agreed and approved IAOT STATEMENT on cyber threat awareness (see the full text ob web pages). Action plan for the period 2022-2023 was updated. The 17th meeting of the Board of Directors international and the contest "Best in Profession" was approved to take place in Belarus.

The meeting in Prague is conceived as an annual educational seminar for specialists and middle technical management. We managed to secure the participation of 14 colleagues (including the necessary visas) from 7 companies: MERO ČR, MERO Germany, JANAF, MOL, Transneft, TRANSPETROL, Ukrtransnafta. A team of tutors prepared three related business cases based on a model pipeline system connecting a marine terminal, an oil pumping station with a tank farm, and an oil refinery. Each of the three business cases contains a description of a problem that has arisen in one of the system’s sections. The program is constructed in such a way so the participants could make a fresh look on routine operations, such as pipeline repair, renovation of a tank farm or an installation of a measuring unit, and evaluate the influence of such operations on the functioning of the whole system.