Nuclear Power online training programme

Bill Sooby BA, MBA, CEng

Consultant, LNG2020 Ltd

Bill Sooby has a degree in Physics and a MBA, and has worked in the energy industry for over 30 years. He is a member of the UK Nuclear Institute and is a Chartered Engineer with European engineer (Eur Ing) status.  He has experience in the oil and gas business as well as over a decade of operational and technical experience in the nuclear industry.  He left his previous employer, Shell, in 2007 and since then he has been working as an independent consultant, as well as bringing his training and expertise to IBC Academy.

His nuclear experience of both operational and safety issues consists of employment at Bradwell and Dungeness ‘B’ nuclear power stations in the UK and in a headquarters safety role assessing the safety of new nuclear systems. He has extensive experience of preparation and assessment of nuclear safety case documentation. Bill’s working experience covers gas-cooled reactors (both Magnox and Advanced Gas Reactors) and fast reactor technologies.  He has also assessed the safety issues around the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel.

He held a series of posts of increasing seniority and responsibility in the nuclear industry.  A primary function of his work was the preparation of nuclear safety documentation, including:

• Authoring documents for the Nuclear Safety Committee and managing their proposals through the assessment process.
• Drafting and managing the approval process, including supporting arguments, for changes to the Power Station Operating Rules and Instructions.
• Assessing the nuclear safety implications of proposed plant modifications.
• Preparation of Stage Clearance documentation supporting increases in allowed power levels as part of the commissioning process at Dungeness B.

To do this work Bill developed safety arguments for both senior management and the statutory authorities in the UK.  This included the use of large-scale, sophisticated computer models to specify safety systems and operating limits.

He was a member of the nuclear emergency standby team and managed a small team of graduate engineers and support staff.

On joining the oil and gas industry Bill pioneered the use of Quantified Risk Assessment techniques in the downstream Liquid Petroleum Gas industry, transferring these tools from the nuclear to the non-nuclear field. Subsequently, he worked in commercial roles in the gas and power businesses.

He has also developed and delivered a number of training courses and workshops.  These have focussed on providing introductory training on nuclear issues to non-technical audiences including:

• Major law firms
• Banks
• Large consulting companies

Bill is also active in providing commercial training in the gas and power industries.