Summary
Consultant Process Engineer: Experience in Petrochemical, Aromatics and Refining Technology Development, Plant Operations, Process Design, Marketing, Business Development, Commissioning, Startup, Plant and Project Troubleshooting, Training, Project Engineering, Engineering Management, Research, Conceptual Process Configuration, Proposal Preparations and Presentation. Particular experience in the commissioning and startup of plants.
Led process design teams responsible for new process schemes, developing innovative process concepts, and the subsequent commercial implementation. Technical leader of teams to configure and acquire such projects, from sales contacts through proposal preparation. Previously Manager of Process Engineering for a full-service engineering and construction company, specializing in oil refining projects. Prior positions include Commissioning Coordinator on this first-of-a-kind petrochemical project in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, and primary Startup Engineer for a major refinery expansion in Texas. The latest project was a demonstration plant consisting of a steam/methane reformer, followed by a methanol unit, a DME unit and a DME-to-Gasoline unit.
Professional Experience
Independent Consultant
May 2014 to present
Short-term consulting assignments, including Industrial Training on Startup and Commissioning, Expert Witness (on Ethylene technology) and various Process Engineering consulting assignments in refining and petrochemical industries. Primary technical consultant on a unit consisting of a steam/methane reformer, and a secondary reformer, in Argentina.
Brinderson, Costa Mesa, CA, USA (now Aegion Inc.)
March 2011 to May 2014
Manager, Process Engineering
Brinderson was a full-service engineering and construction company serving industrial clients, particularly refineries, throughout the western United States. Responsibilities as Manager of Process Engineering included technical and manpower planning for a team of Process Engineers, technical consulting and advisor to projects, process engineers’ training, group administration, coordination with other engineering disciplines and business development support. Acted as primary customer contact on technical or process issues. In addition served as the company’s chairman or representative on project HAZOP analysis meetings.
Middough, Inc., Mt. Laurel, NJ, USA
July 2007 to March 2011
Manager, Process Engineering
The Mt. Laurel office of Middough, Inc. is one of three major engineering centers in the company, and is particularly focused on the Oil Refining industry. Responsibilities as Manager of Process Engineering included technical and manpower planning for a team of Process Engineers, technical consulting and advisor, process engineers’ training, group administration, coordination with other engineering disciplines (and other Middough offices) and customer contact on technical or process issues. Projects ranged from conceptual / FEL1 studies through the range of engineering services to plant troubleshooting and technical consulting. Recent projects were primary technical support for a refinery expansion startup, and conceptual design for a high-pressure hydrotreater project. Chairman of company-wide Process Engineering Excellence team.
Field assignments: Corning, Taiwan and AGE Refining, San Antonio, Texas.
Jubail United Petrochemical Company, Jubail, Saudi Arabia
January 2006 to January 2007
LAO Commissioning Coordinator, and Ethylene Process Trainer
United operates an ethylene-based petrochemical complex in Jubail Industrial City, which started up in 2004. As part of their expansion, United added the first Linear Alpha Olefins (LAO) plant in the Gulf region which can make the full range of industrially important LAOs. The technology for this plant was developed by a joint venture between Linde and Sabic. A pilot plant was built at the Sabic Research & Technology center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to prove the concept. Linde designed and built this first commercial plant, which was constructed by two Saudi contractors.
Responsibilities as Commissioning Coordinator on this first-of-a-kind petrochemical project: Managed all turnover and commissioning activities at this innovative plant, Supervised a team of over 50 engineers, technicians and operators for this challenge; Coordinated with the design and construction contractors, and program management contractor; Organized a team of planners to produce and monitor a “master” integrated project completion schedule using Primavera software – which integrated construction, hydrotesting, precommissioning, turnover, safety review and commissioning activities. The plant was started up within one day of this master schedule’s projection.
Following successful LAO commissioning, assigned as Process Trainer to the JUPC ethylene plant. This is a 1.4 million t/yr ethane cracker, using the basic flowscheme from C F Braun.
Selas Fluid Processing Corporation, Blue Bell, PA (now Linde USA)
January 2000 to November 2005
Manager, Ethylene Technology
Selas FPC designs and supplies cracking furnaces, reformers and other proprietary thermal equipment to the worldwide refining and petrochemical industries. Selas is a subsidiary of Linde AG, Germany. As a Linde company, these cracking furnaces use the proprietary Linde PyroCrack technology.
Responsibilities as Technology Manager included: Process engineering, technology coordination and technical support, customer training, business development and sales. This entailed primary customer contact, proposal preparation, and project engineering. Reported directly to the President of Selas and led the Sales and Business Development effort for all furnace-related products and services. Represented Selas on the Linde furnace technology development program, and was responsible for managing Selas’ deliverables (drawings, capital estimates, comparative studies, suggested improvements and market data) to this major program. Served as troubleshooter on domestic and overseas design projects and field assignments on new plants.
Field startup and troubleshooting assignments included:
- Borouge, Ruwais, Abu Dhabi
Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation (now a Technip/FMC company), Houston, TX
April 1993 to December 1999
Marketing Manager and Olefins Technology Manager
The Stone & Webster process technology group was responsible for maintaining their position in the forefront of Ethylene technology. Responsibilities as Olefins Technology Manager included: Olefin and Aromatics technical developments, sales support, proposal preparation, process design technical review, and following the petrochemical project market throughout the world. Served as the Aromatics processes technical advisor to the company.
Also assigned as team leader responsible for an innovative process development. Project manager on a BP/S&W joint technical development program. Spearheaded several proposals which resulted in grassroots and revamp project awards. Appointed as senior technology group representative, with responsibilities for the technology and process engineering input in a number of issues including proposals, contractual negotiations, project kickoff, conceptual and process design reviews, customer training and follow-up client contact. This follow-up included plant troubleshooting on new plants to resolve pre-guarantee testing technical limitations. Notable successes were a twenty-day lead time Lump Sum Turn Key proposal for a major new liquid cracker in South America, which was awarded against fierce and well established competition.
Field startup and troubleshooting assignments were:
IPCL , Nagothane, India
Responsibilities as Marketing Manager included: Aromatics and Olefins Project Sales within the Marketing group; Served as the primary point of contact for potential plant customers, and directed proposals for a wide range of technical services. This included grassroots plants, revamp and expansion projects, technology packages and the full range of studies for technical and commercial feasibility.
Center for Professional Advancement (CfPA), East Brunswick, NJ
1981 to 2016
Course Director, “Process Plant Startup”
This is a professional four-day seminar, presented each year at a variety of worldwide venues, including twice per year in Amsterdam. The seminar places emphasis on achieving successful startup safely, and “Safety” is a primary theme throughout the course. As Course Director and principal presenter, developed the seminar, and update and customize content to meet client requirements. Member of the Technical Advisory Board to the CfPA, which oversees the technical content for all their seminars.
Brown & Root Braun (Brown & Root Petroleum & Chemicals, now KBR), Wimbledon,
England
January 1991 to March 1993
Manager of Engineering
Responsibilities as Engineering Manager for the startup of the Braun petrochemical and refining business unit within the established B & R Marine Engineering unit: included; Business Development and for the engineering execution plan in all proposals. On awarded projects was responsible for all engineering functions, and on one major project assumed the role of project engineering manager for the initial project phases. Appointed as senior technical delegate, and London office representative, for business developments within the Confederation of Independent States (CIS), working with diverse groups operating within Russia and the republics.
Brown & Root Braun (now KBR), Alhambra CA
May 1990 to December 1990
Technical Advisor, Olefins
Responsibilities as Olefins Technical Advisor to Process Engineering on ethylene technology included; design, marketing, proposals and studies. Reviewed selected schemes to assure compliance with B&R Braun process design and technical standards, conformance with customer’s requirements, and to quality review the resultant designs. Also responsible for training process engineers, technical oversight of process improvements, and for developments including patents and technical papers.
KTI, Monrovia, CA (now Technip USA, an FMC company)
April 1987 to April 1990
Supervising Process Engineer
Responsibilities as Supervising Process Engineer included; technical team leader on ethylene furnace projects, preparing the process technical input and presenting the design. Acted as the technical team leader to qualify and propose to Quantum for a new cracking furnace – the first cracking furnace KTI was awarded in the USA. Developed an innovative, lowcapital, design which was built to meet the customer’s very short project schedule – as a result the furnace was successfully completed weeks ahead of the schedule, and KTI received an early-completion bonus. Also worked as site technical supervisor for operator training, commissioning, startup and performance testing. Assigned as Team Leader to commission and conduct proving tests on an innovative furnace/burner concept, and to demonstrate the resultant “ultra-low NOX” performance to the State of California environmental authorities.
Field ethylene startup plant assignments:
- Quantum Chemicals, Clinton, Iowa, USA
C F BRAUN, Alhambra, CA (now KBR)
July 1982 to April 1987
Principal Process Engineer
A variety of ethylene process engineer positions, of progressively increasing responsibility, within the process engineering group. Process engineering tasks included project design, process design reviews and coordination. Field assignments included plants in Kentucky, Texas and Saudi Arabia; for commissioning, startup, operator training, process revamps and upgrading, and contract operations of new plants. Managed an operator training program for a newly-upgraded refinery. Demonstrated a new process methodology for production of a key lube oil additive. Assigned for startup support, troubleshooting and guarantee testing to:
- Petrokemya ethylene plant, Jubail, Saudi Arabia
- Sadaf ethylene/CIE plant, also in Jubail, Saudi Arabia
- Pennwalt, Calvert City, KY fluorocarbon plant
- Texaco, Port Arthur, TX lube oil additives plant upgrade
Lummus, Bloomfield, NJ (now CB&I Lummus)
February 1976 to July 1982
Senior Process Engineer and Initial Operations Services Engineer
Responsibilities on a range of projects included; home-office process design engineering and field assignments for training, commissioning, startup and guarantee testing in Czechoslovakia (two plants), Brazil, Germany and within the USA. Managed two operator training projects, and was responsible for startup and operations input to proposals and project design reviews.
Plant field assignments, for commissioning, startup, troubleshooting and guarantee
testing were:
- Slovnaft, Bratislavia, CSSR (now Slovakia)
- Copene (now Braskem), Camacari, Brazil
- Zaluzi, Litvinov, CSSR (now Czech Republic)
- Conoco/Monsanto (now Lyondel/Basell), Chocolate Bayou, Texas
- Borealis (now Repsol), Sines, Portugal
Prior to this: - Technip, Paris, France – ethylene process design engineer
- BP Chemicals, Baglan Bay, UK – plant shift supervisor
- BP Research, Sunbury, UK – pilot plant operations engineer
Professional Achievements and Affiliations
Authored and presented numerous technical papers, such as: “Operator Training for Startup”, ME Petrochemical Conference, Kuwait, in 1986; “Refinery and Petrochemical Integration” at the Chem Systems’ Conference, in 1998; “Troubleshooting Fractionation” in the Distillation Seminar and “Marketing as a Career for Engineers” as the Management Division keynote speech, at the AIChE Spring National Meeting, 1999; “Coking Mitigation” Tutorial at the AIChE Ethylene Producers Conference in April 2001.
Past Member of the Ethylene Producers Committee of the AIChE, and chaired sessions and presented papers at the Ethylene Producers Conference on “Cracking Furnaces – Where we are and how we got there”, “Quench Systems Review and Developments” and “Burners for Cracking Furnaces” (2002, 2003 and 2004). In 2007 presented a paper titled “Petrochemicals from Bitumen” at this conference.
Latest paper: “Methanol from Petcoke for Gasoline Blending”, Oil & Gas Journal, June (part 1) and July, 2011 (part 2). This was based upon the paper authored and presented by me at the “Heavy Oil Technology Conference” Calgary, AB, July 2011.
Awarded US Patent 5859304, “Chemical Absorption Process for Recovering Olefins” in 1999. Member of ACS, IChemE (UK) and AIChE, and past Chairman of the Technology Committee within the AIChE Ethylene Producer’s Conference.
Education
University of Bradford, UK, Bachelor of Chemical Engineering