Annual Report 2010 - IRO

Committees and Working Groups
IRO attaches great importance to the opinion of its members.
Therefore IRO has called into being several committees and
working groups that deal with important issues and focus on
specific areas.
Committees
IRO has three committees that focus on specific areas of the association; Commercial &
Financial Affairs; Public Relations and Technical & Regulatory Affairs. The committees
have a policy advisory role and also serve as a sounding board for the association.
They are chaired by a member of the Executive Board of the association. In order to
create a good link between the Board, committees, the association and its members, all
committee members are IRO members. The committees are a reflection of the companies
that IRO represents as an association.
Committee on Public Relations
This committee advises the Board on communication with the members and other parties.
Means of communication are evaluated and new means introduced. The CPR met four
times in 2010.
Offshore Holland
An alternative was sought for the IRO Newsletter and was found in a new international
magazine that will promote the Dutch suppliers in the oil and gas industry abroad,
called Offshore Holland. This joint initiative by Navingo and Practica (Offshore Visie) will
meet the lack of interest with international media for the qualities and capabilities of,
in particular, medium and small Dutch offshore suppliers. IRO supports this initiative and
the members of the CPR were asked to give their opinions on this new magazine and
the profiling of IRO in it. Offshore Holland will be published twice per year, around large
international exhibitions, like OTC, ONS and Offshore Europe. The first edition will be
launched at the OTC in May 2011.
Member survey
In Spring 2010 IRO conducted a survey amongst its members. The Committee on
Public Relations was asked to give input for the questionnaire. Over 100 persons of the
addressed members have filled out the online questionnaire. The survey treated the
means of communications such as IRO News, the Netherlands Oil and Gas Catalogue and
the website. The Members meetings, Exhibitions and Trade missions were also discussed.
Other IRO activities including the IRO Working Groups and Employment & Education were
valued as well. Suggestions and recommendations given by IRO members and Committee
members were taken into account.
IRO’s 40 th Anniversary
In November 2011 IRO will celebrate its 40 th Anniversary. Preparations are in full swing
and the CPR was asked to give input on the programme of this special event. On this day
the Award of Excellence will be awarded for the third time and a competition between
universities will take place in order to encourage younger people to work in the oil and
gas industry.
Committee on Commercial and Financial Affairs (CCFZ)
Only one CCFZ meeting was held in 2010. The main subject was the IRO export
promotion plan for 2011. Discussed were activities on the following countries:
China, Egypt, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Qatar, Russia and Singapore and West
Australia. As a result of the suggestions and advice of the CCFZ the following export
promotional activities are planned for 2011: A Holland pavilion at the Australasian Oil
and Gas (23-25 February 2011) in combination with an oil and gas mission. An offshore
oil and gas mission to Egypt during Intergas (10-12 May 2011) that will be organized in
cooperation with NCH (postponed due to political unrest). In addition Holland pavilions at
Oil and Gas Asia (1-3 June 2011, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) and in cooperation with Shell
at the World Petroleum Congress in Qatar (4-8 December 2011).
Committee on Technical and Regulatory Affairs
Due to lack of attendance no meeting was organized in 2011. All CTR members were
informed on the IRO technical and regulatory affairs by an annual overview of activities.
By e-mail the CTR members were also given the opportunity to comment on the draft
programme for the IRO Innovation seminar in 2011.
On 23 December 2010 a law was passed which states that mandatory coverage of
national insurance, health insurance and an employee insurance scheme shall apply to
all employees working on the Dutch part of the continental shelf. With the introduction
of this law, foreign employees (who do not live in the Netherlands) working on the Dutch
continental shelf, regardless of the duration of the working period, are covered by Dutch
social security legislation the same way as foreign employees who work on land in the
Netherlands but do not live in the Netherlands. In the preparation of this law,
IRO pointed out the particularities of the oil and gas industry to the Ministry of Social
Affairs at several meetings. However it was decided not to take the particularities of the
oil and gas industry into account. For 1800 foreign employees the introduction of this
new law means that they will have to pay premiums for social security and must have a
compulsory health insurance (zorgverzekering) even if they work only a few days a year
on the Dutch Continental Shelf and even if they are already insured in another country.
Another problem is that although foreign workers on the Dutch Continental Shelf have
to pay premiums, they are not always entitled to social security payments. To be entitled
for payments you must live in the Netherlands. IRO fears that this new law will result in a
shortage of labour as foreign workers will not be willing to work on the Dutch Continental
Shelf anymore and that the law will increase the labour costs and administrative burden
for employers. A positive point is that the ‘Vreemdelingenwet’ will not be applicable to
employees working on the Dutch Continental Shelf. As a result a working permit is not
necessary. The date of commencement of this new law has been set at 1 January 2012.
14 IRO Annual Report 2010