APEA Live 2015 hits record numbers

The APEA Live 2015, which gathered professionals from the retail petroleum industry in Coventry, United Kingdom, hit record attendee numbers.

The event, organized by the Association of Petroleum and Explosives Administrators (APEA), included an exhibition, attended by some 1,610 visitors, a conference program that kicked off with a keynote speech by former Secretary State for Energy Lord Howell of Guilford, and a final awards dinner where 620 were present - a record high number.

“As an exhibitor this year has been very busy. APEA is an intimate event, solely for the UK, where you usually have more established relationships with customers and suppliers,” said David Naylor, from Durapipe.

Opening a conference program that experienced a 32% increase in number of delegates (469), Lord Howell of Guilford gave an overview of the UK and the world´s current energy situation, stressing the need to combine fossil fuel and green energy in order to have a balanced energy bill. “The oil and the green worlds will have to coexist. No side will win this battle,” he said.

The former Secretary State for Energy was followed by Helen Thompson, who gave an insight into the development of the new Shell Fill Up & Go programme, a mobile payment system created in partnership with PayPal.

Jonathon Diver, Network Development Director at Topaz Energy, spoke of the current status of the successful Irish fuel retailing company, such as the investment in quality, healthy food at some of its forecourts, as well as the future plans which include national and overseas expansion.

“Having attended APEA conferences in the past, I think this was the most solid conference they had in terms of speakers. They were high quality speakers and pertinent topics,” commented Robert Renkes, Executive Vice President of the U.S. Petroleum Equipment Institute.

The other presentations included NanoVapor´s new solution to make the access of underground storage tanks faster and safer; how BP´s assurance team system brought all key functions of the company´s retail segment together, as well as their improvement in health and safety; and Dr Emma Guthrie ended the conference programme by addressing the characteristics and challenges of the hydrogen fuelling market.

After an entertaining awards ceremony, the one-day event finished off with a tribute to Brian Baker, who was handed the APEA Elaflex Lifetime Achievement Award and received a resounding round of applause by the attendees.

“F2F Events feel APEA Live 2015 was bigger, better and more successful than ever,” said Rebecca Tompkins, from F2F Events, organizer of the event.

*Check out PetrolPlaza TV´s video report of the APEA Live 2015 which includes interviews with all award winners here.