Contract risk management in offshore wind construction 2014

Delegate Registration And Morning Refreshments

Chair’s Welcome And Opening Remarks

Thomas Arensbach, Head of Projects UK – Offshore,  Siemens

Analysing The Contract Interface To Ensure Maximum Efficiency, Meet Project Obligations And Define Party Liability

• What is best practice when it comes to managing your contract interface?
• What are the typical gaps that arise?
• How to foster a common understanding of contractor challenges when issuing procurement contracts
• Ensuring a high level of built-in capacity in your interface to deal with delays across different packages
• Contracting for the lifecycle of your project

To What Extent Can Standard Form Construction Contracts Be Successfully Adapted As A Meaningful Contractual Base?

• How are standard form construction contracts adapted?
• Exploring the benefits of applying adapted standard form contracts to  offshore wind: FIDIC, LOGIC, NEC
• Examining how financing institutions view risk profiles according to the  choice of contract base
• How your contract base affects the operational elements of your project

Robin Banning, Senior Commercial Manager, AREVA GmbH

Networking Break And Morning Refreshments

Panel: Assessing Different Perspectives On Contracting Strategies

As the offshore wind industry matures and lessons are learned, various contracting strategies have emerged with different practical implications on the contract interface and project execution.

Our panel of experts will examine preferred contracting strategies with a focus on the suitability of either strategy according to risk appetite, project variables and internal priorities, based on respective industry experience.

• Multi-Contracting
• Joint Ventures/Partnering
• EPC/LSTK

Stephen Ward, Head of Project Management, AREVA UK
Robert Speht, General Manager , Outsmart UK
Jeroen Hesen, Offshore Programme Development Manager, Gamesa
Matthew Bleasdale, OWLC
Kambiz Gindesgaard, Head of Installation & Logistic, Iberdrola

Networking Lunch

Who Should Bear The Risk For Design Responsibility Of Your Project?

• When is design responsibility implied into a contract?
• To what extent can a contractor be held liable for design responsibility?
• Is there an obligation for contractors to object to project design  elements and why?
• In which situations will design responsibility pass to the client?
• Assessing a cooperative strategy with early inclusion in order to  mitigate design responsibility and reduce the risk profile

Joris Hol, Procurement & Contracts Manager , ENECO

How Is Contractual Liability Addressed In The Installation Phase Of Your Project?

• Understanding contract risk in terms of the application of liability
• Technical issues
• Remedial work
• How to allocate risk in contract negotiations to ensure definitive  responsibility in the event of an incident
• Dealing with delay and disruption claims arising in the installation  phase of the project
• Scheduling
• Impact on the critical path
• Assessing how to best protect yourself against claims without resorting  to blame shifting

Chris Kidd, Partner, Ince & Co

Mark de la Haye, Senior Associate , Ince & Co  

Networking Break And Afternoon Refreshments

Debate: The Only Way To Reduce The Cost Of Energy And Ensure The Long-Term Sustainability Of The Offshore Wind Industry Is For Clients To Share Contract Risk With Contractors

Proposition: Requiring contractors to take on the majority of the project risks leads to high security requirements and drives up project costs. This goes against the general objective of the industry to reduce the cost of energy.

Debaters include:
Nicola Foate, Lead Commercial Lawyer, Siemens plc
Lars Christensen, Head of Commercial Sales, Siemens plc

Opposition: Clients cannot control the risk for a product or service supplied by a contractor, so they should not have to absorb it. Installation contractors have the requisite expertise to take on technical risks and this is the fundamental basis upon which risk should always be allocated.

Willem Schellingerhout, Consultant, Offshore Renewables & Marine, Fair Wind Consultancy

Chair’s Closing Remarks And End Of Day 1