THE PRESIDENT’S LETTER

By Neil McKnight, T.D. Williamson, UK

Happy New Year to all our members, I hope 2026 brings you good health, happiness and success! Busy times always seem to bookend the year at the PPSA. We have two very different flavoured events closing out 2025 to report on since the last newsletter. Starting with a visit to Rio de Janeiro to run the Introduction to Pigging Course where were joined by 50 attendees learning the fundamentals of our industry under the warm tropical sun. This was held again at the at the CTDUT Pipeline Technology Center test loop, further strengthening our partnership with YPP Brazil and the regional pigging community. The next day PPSA attended the Rio Pipeline Conference and visited the exhibition taking the opportunity to meet up with PPSA members there.

Shifting Hemispheres, we hosted the PPSA Seminar at Ardoe House in Scotland. Just as in Rio, the event opened with a learning and development focus and a tutorial on inspecting unpiggable pipelines. We were very pleased to see the return of the PEP talks where five emerging professionals took the opportunity to kick start their careers with some presentation coaching and delivered some engaging, humorous and personal talks.

At the main Seminar, a sold out room of 150 delegates enjoyed ten papers on a range of topics. In a repeat of last year, right on queue, snow began to fall giving a seasonal backdrop to the proceedings. We listened to some complex project case studies and had papers highlighting emerging challenges and opportunities including AI and CCUS conversion. The papers are now on the website at https://ppsa-online.com/papers.php.  

The exhibition room was packed out with members showcasing their technologies and pigging solutions and we concluded with a very well attended ceilidh with some enthusiastic first attempts at traditional Scottish dancing.

We paused to celebrate earlier this year that PPSA turned 35 years old, a major milestone which validates our founders’ original vision. It is critical however that we look forward to the future as well as back to the past if we are to ensure the PPSA continues to grow and thrive. It was a priority therefore that we should reached out to our members to understand what your priorities and needs are.

One outcome from that feedback is that for the first time in many years, the annual seminar in 2026 will change location and will be held in Amsterdam. As communicated by our members, it’s clear that the energy industry is changing and our own network is more globalised than ever. We will trial a change of venue this year which boasts direct international flights in a region at the forefront of infrastructure development in the energy transition. We hope to see you all there and thank you again for making the PPSA a cornerstone of the pipeline technology sector.

It has been a great honour to serve as President of the PPSA, to be part of the legacy of the organisation and to see it continue to grow and thrive. None of which would be possible of course, without the ongoing stewardship and commitment of Diane Cordell. I will handover to the incoming President Neil Mackay and have no doubt he will drive us forward with the same energy and passion he has demonstrated as Vice President.