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| W I R E L I N E
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SUMMER 2017
F
rom the days of
fielding numerous
phone calls
andmanaging
amultitude of
spreadsheets in
the late 90s, to a
fully automated
digital workflow
in recent years,
the AberdeenMarine Logistics Alliance
(AMLA) has come a long way. But its
purpose remains fundamentally the
same – to support andmanage the
sharing of offshore vessels for
ad hoc shipments, in pursuit of greater
efficiency and cost savings.
The latest figures fromPeterson – the
energy logistics business behind the
initiative – underline its value. The
combined financial gain for companies
taking part in the alliance during 2015
and 2016 was £2million. It also yielded
significant environmental benefits in the
same period. Carbon dioxide emissions
from such vessel movements reduced
by around 950 tonnes in 2016 – the
equivalent of removing almost 300 cars
from the road in a year, says Peterson.
“As was recently highlighted by
Oil &Gas UK and others, there’s an urgent
need for widespread collaboration in
the North Sea to improve the efficiency
and long-termcompetitiveness of the
basin,” notes Peterson’s regional director
Chris Coull. “We believe significant
opportunities exist within the supply
chain to do just that through vessel
sharing. AMLA is based on one of our
core principles – taking waste out of the
supply chain by promoting the concept
of sharing and underpinning it with
advanced technology.”
The schememeans operators can
use spare capacity on a vessel
operated by another company
to transport materials to
their offshore assets. Thirty
operators are now signed
up to AMLA and demand for
increased collaboration in
the sector is reflected in a
record rise in vessel shares
last year. 2016 saw 50 vessel
shares, up from21 in 2015.
There have been 18 up to April
this year so far.
The role Peterson plays, which
includes all back-room legal and
administrative support
for the alliance, was
recognised
when it
triumphed in the collaboration
category at the 2016 Offshore
Achievement Awards.
Chris flags that the arrangement
means “participating operators pose
themselves the question, do we really
need a whole vessel to ourselves or can
we get access to available capacity on
vessels in the vicinity?”
Sharing is caring
For Maersk Oil, AMLA has become
fundamental to its logistics
management since it joined the
alliance in 2005. “Where we have
a requirement for suitable ad hoc
cargo shipments, our first port
of call is AMLA,” says head of
logistics ElaineMcEwan.
“The large number of industry
participants means there is
scope for a wide range of shares.
Reducing the number of vessel
voyages has many advantages – it
minimises safety risk as fewer vessels
are beingmoved; environmentally,
fewer journeys means less emissions;
and reduced costs for the vessel
charterer and share partner.
Participating
operators pose
themselves the
question, do we
really need a
whole vessel to
ourselves?
“
”