Metallurgical, Materials, and Corrosion Engineering Expert

Expertise

• Over thirty years of experience in positive material identification (PMI), pipeline technology, pipe manufacturing, pipeline and piping repairs, fitness for service and risk analysis.
• Expert knowledge in metallurgy engineering codes, standards, and specifications.
• Specialized experience in performing failure analysis, forensic metallurgy, identifying degradation of materials, materials selection, corrosion prevention, and conversion to gas or NGL service.
• Prepared and taught technical seminars for pipeline personnel with subjects including welding inspection, pipe and weld defects.
• Solved special metallurgical and corrosion problems including sour service, environmental cracking and microbiologically influenced corrosion.

Experience

Undisclosed Company, Principal Engineer, Metallurgy and Pipelines

• Consultant and team member on corrosion, metallurgy, pipeline issues, risk analysis and Reliability-Availability-Maintainability (RAM) analysis.

Becht Engineering Co., Liberty Corner, NJ, Advisor, 2004 - 2006

• Lead engineer for a study on upgrading and rerouting pipelines at a Kuwait refinery.
• Hazard identification, consequence analyses and quantitative risk analyses were performed in order to study the routing of 21 pipelines.
• Recommendation was made for an alternate pipeline corridor that would result in lower risk and significantly lower cost.

Abdel Hadi Abdullah Al-Qahtani and Sons, Dammam, Saudi Arabia, 2006 - 2009

Chief Metallurgist

• Special Consultant to Chairman for metallurgical engineering and manufacturing operations at Group Five Pipe Saudi and other company businesses.
• Primarily supported Group Five Pipe Saudi, a manufacturer of spiral-welded line pipe to API 5L and Saudi Aramco specifications. Activities included:
• Assisting QA/QC Department with inspection activities and revising procedures.
• Qualification for sour service pipe sales to Saudi Aramco.
• Installation of HIC testing lab.
• Installation of new metallurgical and mechanical testing lab including selection of a drop weight tear test (DWTT) machine.
• Specification and procurement of NDT equipment for new Line 3 and Line 4.
• Development and qualification of raw material suppliers.
• Training and supervising the Sales Manager.
• Clarification and renegotiation of a five-year purchase agreement with Saudi Aramco.

Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 1991 - 2003

• As Senior Metallurgical Engineer and Metallurgical Engineering Specialist for the Materials Engineering and Corrosion Control Division and Consulting Services Department, performed various services.

Engineering Standards

• Chairman of Materials and Corrosion Control Standards Committee with responsibility for standards, specifications, and procedures for piping materials and corrosion control.
• Personally involved writing standards for line pipe, fittings, induction bends, material selection of piping components, positive material identification (PMI), low temperature service, sour service, and fracture control.
• Materials consultant for valves, pressure vessels and other equipment.
• Administered and processed interpretations and waivers to standards. A major contributor to a company handbook on "Pipeline Inspection and Defect Evaluation." Member of Offshore Structures Standards Committee.

Pipeline Technology

• Initiated Saudi Aramco membership in Pipeline Research Council International. Saudi Aramco member on PRCI Board of Directors.
• Member of PRCI Line Pipe Supervisory Committee and Materials Technical Committee with special interests in stress corrosion cracking and fracture control.

Failure analysis

• Numerous metallurgical failure analyses on a variety of systems including pipelines and oil company upstream and downstream operations.
• Work characterized by ability to investigate and determine specific causes of failures and recommend practical solutions.
• Numerous investigations of sulfide stress cracking (SSC), stress corrosion cracking (SCC), hydrogen induced cracking (HIC), and one case of stress-oriented hydrogen induced cracking (SOHIC).

In-house consulting

• Frequent email, telephone and personal consultations with project engineers, loss prevention, inspection, materials supply, pipeline, refinery operations, and maintenance personnel solving problems in areas such as; pipeline and plant risk assessment, materials selection, pipeline fitness for service evaluations, repair recommendations, corrosion control, and engineering standards.

Project support

• Reviewed a variety of design packages for technical merit and compliance with industry and Saudi Aramco standards.
• Supported Project Management, Purchasing, and Inspection with implementation of engineering standards and specifications and troubleshooting construction problems.

Professional Engineering Development

• Presented papers and led discussions at company seminars and regional conferences on topics such as stress corrosion cracking of pipelines, microbiologically influenced corrosion, and other failure analysis case studies.
• Monitored and critiqued in-house courses related to materials engineering. Lead instructor for Saudi Aramco Professional Engineering Development course in Failure Analysis and Material Selection.
• Featured in videotape montage computer-based version of Material Selection module in Corrosion Basic course. Extensive mentoring of Saudi engineers.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline and Tenneco Gas Transmission, Houston, TX, 1979 - 1991

Staff Metallurgist and Metallurgical Section Supervisor

• As Staff consultant supported pipeline management decisions by making recommendations dealing with materials, corrosion, welding, and pipeline integrity.
• Technical supervision of three other metallurgists and a metallurgical laboratory.
• Technical guidance and approval of reports concerning failure analysis, materials selection and welding.
• Investigated a variety of pipeline failures: Macro examinations, photography, metallography and mechanical testing were employed as required for the investigation. A written report was submitted for each project with specific recommendations.
• Coordinated with Quality Assurance Section provided support in areas such as nondestructive testing required for failure analysis, welding inspection, pipeline inspection including stress corrosion cracking.
• Coordinated with corrosion control personnel - special problem areas; external and internal microbiologically influenced corrosion, stress corrosion cracking, and internal corrosion of offshore lines.
• Section supervisory duties included personnel matters, communication with management, purchasing of equipment and supplies, and recommending annual capital budget items.
• Managed research projects concerned with stress corrosion cracking and internal corrosion of gas pipelines in offshore areas.
• As a member of Pipeline Emergency Task Force; dispatched at short notice a number of times to the scene of major service ruptures to assess the damage and initiate failure analysis investigations to determine the cause of the failure.
• Prepared and taught seminars for pipeline personnel. Subjects have included welding inspection, pipe and weld defects, and codes, standards and specifications.

Honors & Publications

Credentials

Educator

• Instructor for Southern Gas Association Transmission Construction Inspectors Course
• Monitored and critiqued in-house courses related to materials engineering as lead instructor for Saudi Aramco

Academic and Professional Affiliations

• Active member: American Society for Metals (ASM) and National Association of Corrosion Engineers, (NACE)
• Active in local NACE chapter and Past Secretary, African and Middle East Region
• Technical Committee of 8th and 9th Middle East Corrosion Conference
• Member of Gas Research Institute Biocorrosion Task Group, American Gas Association PRC Line Pipe Research
• Served on industry committees. Gas Research Institute Biocorrosion Task Group, American Gas Association PRC Line Pipe Research, instructor for Southern Gas Association Transmission Construction Inspectors Course.

Publications

• Presented papers and led discussions at company seminars and regional conferences on pipelines SCC, microbiologically influenced corrosion, and other failure analysis case studies.

Education

• M.S. Ocean Engineering, Corrosion, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
• M.S. Education-Vocational and Technical Education, University of Florida, Ganesville, FL
• B.S. Metallurgical Engineering, University of North Florida, Jackson, FL