Programme overview
We are grateful to our Main Conference Sponsor, RB Plant Ltd., for their generous support with this year's programme. RB Plant is an engineering and project delivery partner with over five decades of experience in executing complex industrial projects across various sectors. They specialise in engineering design & consultancy, construction and project management, procurement, surveying, modelling & simulation, and business transformation. RB Plant’s expertise spans pharmaceuticals, chemicals, tank storage, battery materials, food & drink, paper & packaging, glass & metals, minerals, and energy & environment.
For more information about this year's main sponsor, visit their website
Morning
Session 1
Sponsored by:
Chair: Mark Stanton, Project Director, Fluor.
New government, new purpose - but what next for the UK energy transformation?
09:30 Conference Welcome and Introduction
Mark Stanton, Project Director, Fluor and BCECA chair.
09:45 Where does the UK go next?
Keynote contribution by Lord Philip Hammond, former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer and Foreign Secretary, Chair of RCK Partners.
10:05 Delivering Net Zero with homegrown energy
Presentation by Enrique Cornejo, Head of Energy Policy, Offshore Energies UK.
10:30 The strategic advantage of collaborating with EPC companies
Presentation by Kaveh Ebrahimi, Director of Mechanical Engineering, Fluor and Oliver Carter, Principal Process Engineer, Fluor.
10:55 Session round-up
Mark Stanton, Project Director, Fluor and BCECA chair.
COFFEE BREAK
Session 2
Chair: Rebecca Groundwater, Head of External Affairs, EIC.
The supply chain perspective - what's needed for effective delivery?
11:00 An update on the energy transition marketplace
What projects are coming forward and how quickly? Neil Golding, Director of Market Intelligence at the Energy Industries Council (EIC), assesses the current status of UK energy transition projects. Are we still in the study and pre-sanction design phase, or are real projects at volume actually now happening?
11:25 The supply chain perspective
Rebecca Groundwater from the EIC facilitates a round table with invited experts from across the engineering contracting and energy industry supply chains. What's different about today's energy transformation projects? What do suppliers need? How can suppliers, contractors and developers work together more effectively?
Confirmed panellists include:
Neil Golding, Director of Market Intelligence, EIC
David Knight, Concept Solutions Engineering Manager, Gas, SLB
Lucy Brown, Regional Sales Manager, Severn Valves
Keiren Lake, Business Development Manager, Siemens Energy Ltd.
LUNCH BREAK
Afternoon
Session 3
Sponsored by:
Chair: TBC
People & Skills - How to Build a Thriving Workplace
13:00 Do we really have a skills shortage in the UK?
John Pearson, Chief Operating Officer of the global energy services company Petrofac, in conversation with Andrew Hockey, Chief Executive of ECITB, the employer-led skills body for the engineering and construction industry, addresses the question: Should we be concerned about the UK's skills pipeline?
13:25 How to build a thriving workplace
A panel discussion, chaired by Blair Fraser, Head of Carbon Advisory, and Sophie Jacobs, Global Early Careers Team Lead at Wood plc, considers how to build high-performing teams in the modern workplace. The immense value of diversity in our workplaces is widely recognised, and that diversity comes in many forms. How do managers embrace these differences to bring a team together to support productivity growth and deliver client satisfaction?
Confirmed panellists include:
Christine McLean, President, The Controls & Skill Authority
Paul Mudd, Business Development Director, TRS Workforce Solutions
Mark McBride-Wright, Founder & CEO, EqualEngineers
Sean McKirdy, Director, RB Plant Construction Ltd.
Session 4
Sponsored by:
Chair: James Fibbens, Senior Project Manager, Bechtel Energy.
Energy transformation case studies – what do we know?
14:30 The Willis sustainable aviation fuels facility in Teesside
Presentation by Hannah Lainton, Project Manager, McDermott.
14:55 A Green Hydrogen template project
Presentation by Andrew Till, Principal Advisor Hydrogen, Bechtel.
15:15 Enabling large-scale blue hydrogen projects to reach a final investment decision
Presentation by Carron Freeney, Global Head of EPC Relations, Topsoe.
COFFEE BREAK
15:45 A High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) case study - the what and the why of HVDC substations and the complexity of EPC delivery
Presentation by Umesh Kelkar, Portfolio Engineering Manager and Adam Wintle, Delivery Manager, Aker Solutions.
16:05 Experience with practical pathways to Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Presentation by Luigi Crolla, Head of Energy Transition Technologies, Kent
Closing Remarks
16:25 BCECA CEO, Tracey Shelley, offers a flash summary of key issues raised during the day's discussion and offers words of thanks before confirming the date for BCECA's 6th Annual Conference in October 2026.
N.B. All timings are approximate; the programme may be subject to change.
