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In this episode of the World Pipelines Podcast, Elizabeth Corner sits down with Clive Zanker, Chair of UKOPA, to explore the organisation’s 30 year journey representing the UK onshore pipeline industry. From safety and stewardship to decarbonisation and the future of infrastructure, the conversation looks at how the sector has evolved and how UKOPA plans to celebrate its 30th anniversary in style.
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What is World Pipelines Podcast?
The World Pipelines podcast, with Elizabeth Corner, is a podcast that connects and unites pipeline professionals to learn about issues affecting the midstream oil and gas industry.
Hello, and welcome to the World Pipelines Podcast. In this episode, I'm happy to be talking to Clive Zanker, who is head of operations at British Pipeline Agency Limited and chair of the United Kingdom Pipeline Operators Association, or UKOPA. A chartered mechanical engineer with an MBA, Clive brings more than thirty years of experience across operations, integrity, and major hazard management gained in industries including steel, utilities and commercial fuel pipelines and storage. UKOPA represents operators responsible for the majority of The UK's onshore pipeline network. The association brings members together to share learning, develop good practice, and provide a clear, coordinated voice on pipeline safety, operations, and integrity.
Elizabeth Corner:UKOPA has over 30 member companies, including natural gas transmission and distribution, petrochemical liquids and gases, and oil and refined liquids companies. World Pipelines helps oil and gas professionals stay informed about the midstream oil and gas sector, offering technical articles, regional briefings, project and contract news, and think pieces on pipelines all over the world. Register to receive a print or digital copy at worldpipelines.com and search World Pipelines on LinkedIn to join our community. Clive, you'll be talking to me with your YOUCOPA hat on today in what is an exciting year for the association. We thank you for being on the podcast.
Clive Zanker:Good morning, and, thank you for inviting me.
Elizabeth Corner:UKOPA has been around now for thirty years, which is quite the milestone. If we go back to 1996, what was the need for the association at that time? What problem was the industry trying to solve by coming together as members of UKOPA?
Clive Zanker:If I put it simply, the industry needed a way to come together and speak with one clear voice on safety, operations, and integrity so they were heard by the regulators. Before the pipeline safety regulations in 1996, the picture was much more fragmented. Some of the legislation was more about construction rights than long term safety and integrity, and things like inspection and emergency planning were not always as consistent as they needed to be. Pipeline safety regulations in 1996 changed that by bringing in a single regulatory framework. It recognized that pipelines form part of a critical national infrastructure with real public and environmental consequences if something goes wrong.
Clive Zanker:And it put clear responsibilities on operators for hazard management, integrity, and emergency planning. The regulations also made it clear where a pipeline failure could cause serious off-site injury or environmental damage. That was called a major accident hazard. That naturally pushed pipeline safety up to senior levels in organizations with clear ownership and a strong focus on competence. What's important though is that the pipeline safety regulations was not just a new set of rules.
Clive Zanker:It was a real shift in approach. It was goal setting rather than prescriptive. So operators had to show they understood their risks and were managing them on an ongoing basis, not just ticking them off a checklist. And that's different to other European and US approaches. Because pipelines operate in very different settings, carrying different products, and present different risks, there was an obvious value in all of the operators coming together.
Clive Zanker:And through UKOPA, that helped shape what I think is now a very established approach. One good example is the pipeline emergency response officer training that UKOPA offer, PERO, and that's become a respective part of the sector's competency approach. I think industry leaders recognized early on that this was a shared challenge. And by creating UKOPA thirty years ago, those people with that great foresight enabled UKOPA to deliver a strong collective voice, which is a great basis for constructive engagement with regulators, such as the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency. Ever since, UKOPA has played an important part in safety leadership, continuous improvement across the sector.
Clive Zanker:We've kept that shared voice and maintained constructive relationships with regulators and continue to provide that safe collaborative forum where members can focus on doing things better. But for me, that's still very much at the heart of what UKOPA does.
Elizabeth Corner:Fantastic. And that leads me on to my next question, which is when you look at UKOPA today and the shape of it, it represents over 95% of The UK's onshore pipeline network. Does it feel like you have met that original vision? Or perhaps for you, it feels like you've evolved it into something different.
Clive Zanker:I think it's done both. It stayed true to the original purpose of being a single trusted voice for operators, but it's also evolved with the industry. Today, UKOPA's members are responsible for more than 27,000 kilometers pipelines across The UK, so the scale is significant. What started as a forum for alignment is now a mature association that develops guidance. It supports competence.
Clive Zanker:It shares lessons learned and works closely with the regulators. In addition, our members actively collaborate with other industry bodies such as Pipeline Industries Guilder, IGEM, Fuels UK, Tank Storage Association, and others, and in particular for government consultations. So the purpose is the same, but the role's broader, and I would say much more important than ever.
Elizabeth Corner:And tell me about the working groups that UKOPA puts together.
Clive Zanker:We've got six working groups covering a range of themes that are common issues across pipelines. We've got the emergency planning and resilience working group. I mentioned earlier the pipeline emergency response officer training that they help again work with the HSE and multi agencies fire the police, the security services, etcetera, on emergency planning and good practical guidance for how operators pull together emergency plans and what they need to include for them and making sure that people are aware of hazards as well. Hazard awareness. We've got a fault and risk working group which pulls together that data actually tell you about the mechanics of the pipeline itself, the metal in the pipeline, what physical risks there are and how you can deal with them.
Clive Zanker:We'll talk a little bit later about some academic research that the Fulton Risk team are sponsored into research into the life of pipelines. We've got an infringement working group, which is what the public typically see. They're the marker posts. They're how you deal with the public, how you alert people to the presence of pipelines. Process safety working group.
Clive Zanker:Obviously, the pipelines convey hazardous products under high pressure. So everything we do is in line with the process safety principles and and to continual improvement for that. Pipeline integrity, again, similar to fault and risk, that's really about making sure that the pipelines are safe to operate for the next twenty five, thirty, fifty years, whatever their expected, asset lifetime is. And then corrosion prevention. Obviously, not all pipelines, but the majority of UKOPA members' pipelines are made of steel.
Clive Zanker:And one of the major threats to integrity is corrosion. So we've got a very active corrosion prevention working group, and they are actively involved. The implication in The UK certainly with the shift to sustainable alternative power, there's a lot more electricity infrastructure going around The UK, and that can interact with pipelines. So our CP working group have been working closely with their electrical counterparts in the industry to make sure that both technologies complement each other.
Elizabeth Corner:So if I'm a corrosion specialist at an operator, I would join a working group, who would I be sitting with? Kinds of things would I be sharing?
Clive Zanker:You would be working with other corrosion experts from member companies. They're typically CP engineers, managers within very experienced people within other member companies. It's a formal structure, so there's a chair to a working group and a number of members. So, yeah, you can join whatever position in any member company, take part in a working group, become part of a working group, and actually help shape future regulation. Certainly industry guidance UKOPA from key output from all of the working groups practice guides, which are freely available, widely available on the UKOPA website.
Clive Zanker:And they are what the industry members consider to be good practice and give you guidance on how to approach practical issues.
Elizabeth Corner:So you're joining the dots and you're becoming a unified voice for the industry in The UK. How do you get multiple operators to come together on safety and standards? How do you get them to work together, to get in the same room as each other?
Clive Zanker:For me, it starts with a very simple point. Safety is not a competitive space. UKOPA operators may have different systems and different commercial priorities, but nobody benefits from reinventing the wheel or keeping lessons to themselves. UKOPA gives people a structure to come together, compare experience, and work through the technical details properly. When that conversation is grounded in evidence and operating experience and everyone is focused on safe, reliable operation, it becomes much easier to find common ground.
Clive Zanker:And I have to say that the health and safety executive, the pipelines inspectorate, have always been incredibly helpful and supportive of UKOPA, and we liaise with them regularly.
Elizabeth Corner:Yeah. The UK Pipeline Network is often described as one of the safest and most mature in the world. Is that accurate from your point of view? And if so, how have we got there and how do we stay there?
Clive Zanker:Yes, absolutely. I think that it is fair. We are one of the safest and most mature in the world, but only if we keep earning that reputation. We've got a very strong regulatory framework, experienced operators, and decades of shared learning behind us now. UKOPA's fault database and product loss reporting give the sector a solid evidence base, and that's a real strength.
Clive Zanker:At the same time, UKOPA's latest infringement report is a reminder that the risks do not disappear. In 2023, there were 662 recorded infringements, which is where someone's been working near the pipeline, perhaps in an uncontrolled manner. 662 in 2023. But in 2024, the year later, more recently, there were 881. So for me, the message is really straightforward.
Clive Zanker:We need to stay safe by maintaining our assets properly, invest in competence, use data really well, and never become complacent, particularly around third party activity, people digging around the pipelines.
Elizabeth Corner:UKOPA is involved in everything from graduate programs through to PhD research. Are you seeing any gaps or challenges when it comes to the skills that people will need for The UK industry as it evolves?
Clive Zanker:Yeah. I do see skills is a real issue for the sector. And a lot of what we do depends on deep practical and technical expertise. So one challenge is making sure that knowledge is passed on and rather than lost. At the same time, the skills matrix is changing.
Clive Zanker:We've always needed strong engineering fundamentals, but we also need people who are comfortable with data, digital tools, and social media. In addition, the newer questions that are emerging around our assets such as hydrogen transport repurposing for carbon dioxide, that is a real challenge to us. And one of the things I value about UKOPA is that it supports that whole talent pool from awareness and training for people on the ground through to graduate development. For example, we're working with the Royal Academy of Engineering on their graduate engineering engagement program, undertaking academic research with sponsored master's degrees as well as currently there's a PhD researching into vintage girth welds and what that actually means to us.
Elizabeth Corner:You mentioned hydrogen, and of course that along with CO2 transport is on a lot of people's minds. We know that pipelines are going to play a huge role in the energy transition. How is UKOPA helping the industry to prepare for that shift?
Clive Zanker:I think UKOPA's role here is actually helping the industry prepare in a practical, evidence based way. Pipelines are still the most efficient and safe way of transport in large quantities of gas, fuels, and other liquids long distances. There's a lot of interest in hydrogen and carbon dioxide, quite rightly so, but we need to approach that with the same discipline we already apply for existing pipeline operations. That means understanding which assets may be suitable for repurposing, what integrity questions need answering, how standards and regulation may need to evolve, and what skills the workforce will need. UCOPA is valuable because it allows operators to share that knowledge and tackle those questions collectively rather than in isolation.
Elizabeth Corner:Now at the beginning of the episode, I said that the association is celebrating its thirty year milestone, and you are hosting an event at Silverstone later this year, which feels like quite a symbolic, quintessentially British venue. What are you hoping that the event brings to the industry?
Clive Zanker:I'm hoping it does three things. First, it gives us a chance to recognize and celebrate what the industry has achieved over the last thirty years. And secondly, it creates a space for our members, regulators, suppliers, and partners to talk openly and learn from each other. And third, it helps us look ahead because the next chapter will bring its own challenges around asset life, resilience, and the energy transition. Silverstone feels like a very fitting venue because Silverstone is associated with precision, performance, and safety under pressure, and those values are what our industry understands very well.
Elizabeth Corner:And what has been the industry reaction to you announcing this event? What kind of support are you seeing?
Clive Zanker:The industry reaction was very positive. Everybody we spoke with was keen to help support the event. It demonstrates that the take up for sponsors and other participants was immediate very early on, and it just shows how well our member companies work closely with their suppliers and the suppliers work closely with the member companies. It's been an absolute pleasure to witness the progress of the arrangements of the event and keen sponsorship and the sheer number of people wanting to be part of it.
Elizabeth Corner:Absolutely. And when you look at your invitation list, Clive, for the event or your sponsor line up, what makes you feel most optimistic about the next thirty years of UK pipeline operation?
Clive Zanker:I've been so impressed by the breadth and quality of engagement. When you see the operators, regulators, researchers, technical specialists, and supply chain partners all wanting to be part of this event, it tells you there's a real appetite to keep improving. For me, that's important because this industry depends on experience being shared, new ideas being tested, competent people coming through. And if we can combine the lessons of the last thirty years with fresh thinking on digitalization, asset life, energy transition. I think the sector is in a really, really strong position.
Elizabeth Corner:Best of luck with it. I shall be there if all is well, so I really look forward to it. Thank you for talking with today, Clive.
Clive Zanker:Thank you. It's been a pleasure.
Elizabeth Corner:My thanks to Clive Zanker for sharing UKOPA's exciting plans for celebrating its anniversary this year and for walking us through how the association brings UK pipeline operators together. Thanks for listening to the World Pipelines Podcast. Subscribe for free wherever you get your podcasts. And if you have enjoyed this episode, please do rate, review, and forward to a colleague or friend. World Pipelines helps oil and gas pipeline professionals stay informed about the midstream oil and gas sector, offering technical articles, regional briefings, project and contract news, and thinkpieces on pipelines all over the world.
Elizabeth Corner:Register to receive a print or digital copy at worldpipelines.com and search World Pipelines on LinkedIn to join our community.