Here is part of a speech delivered by John Mills, Director of Coporate Affairs for Shell UK. He was speaking at the "Sixth North Sea Conference on April 21, 1998. These exerpts are enlightening:

A typical offshore platform or onshore gas plant uses 50-100 "embedded systems." These are sets of electronic code used to control equipment which are effectively sealed, and cannot be altered by the users. These systems contain anything up to 10,000 individual microchips. We have found that up to half of these systems are critical in terms of production and the impact of our activities on the environment.

Pipeline control and terminal operations have become a particularly computer intensive operation, relying on computer systems to control pumping and to detect any leaks. At our shipping terminal at Tranmere on the river Mersey for example, which handles 12 million tonnes of crude oil for our nearby Stanlow refinery every year, visitors are often astonished to discover that we only have three full-time staff on duty at any one time.

Last, the problem of Commercial Integrity.

This is perhaps the least discussed aspect of the Millenium Bug problem. In Upstream oil and gas we are particularly vulnerable to third parties' Year 2000 problems because so many of our operations are contracted out.

Mobile drilling, Subsea Engineering, Seismic Operations and Platform Maintenance are all services which we, and many large oil and gas companies, no longer provide internally. As a minimum therefore, we must satisfy ourselves that the contractors providing these services are paying enough attention to the Bug problem. This inevitably requires considerable effort and above all, a co-operative approach. Both operators and contractors must realise that they are in this thing together. No company in this industry can isolate itself from the problem. As an industry, we must be more open about our remedial plans and more willing to discuss the progress and pitfalls of meeting them.

Similarly, a modern refinery relies heavily on automated control systems. The basic systems are usually supplied by large specialised companies which are actively developing Year 2000 compliant upgrades. However, most control systems have many local user applications added as enhancements. These all have to be checked for hidden date dependency. As in other areas, the devil is in the detail, but its the detail that could catch us out.

I found this speech available through a link in Dr. Edward Yardeni's "Year 2000 Recession?" document page 31. http://www.yardeni.com/y2kbook.html

-- Anonymous, December 06, 1998