While my career has covered a lot of disciplines, the roadmap was pretty much laid out while I was an undergraduate at MIT where I majored in Mechanical Engineering and minored in Economics. I was fortunate to land a four-year research project which involved extensive fieldwork including machine and testing development and data optimization. I was also blessed to be granted an MIT Engineering Internship with Brookhaven National Laboratory where I developed simulations for water flow through subsurface zones. Lastly, I did my thesis in MIT’s “Machine that Changed the World” lab where I studied continuous improvement methods and design of experiments for machining processes and process management.
These subjects- economic evaluation, continuous improvement, determination of fluid flow (particularly related to hydrocarbons)- have been at least part of every work challenge I have undertaken since graduation. They have underpinned my passion and energy in my work.
When I graduated from MIT, technology was rapidly changing the world- but in a very different way than it is currently. The US manufacturing dominance had been challenged by Japan and there was a tangible feeling that we had lost the technology fight. My advisor, Prof George Chryssolouris, was at the forefront of further optimization techniques that would help the US both identify and meet the challenge. He was an excellent, energetic teacher- I learned to approach management and technical problems in ways that remain with me to this day.
I took positions in both engineering and finance and received advanced degrees from Texas A&M (Petroleum Engineering) and University of Michigan.
Some of my career highlights include:
Expert witness and evaluation for both oil and gas valuations and identification of root causes of oilfield accidents.
Exploration and production of oil and gas assets and economic analysis of energy assets. Asset portfolio management and reservoir management.
Leading BP’s global well control team after the Macondo incident to address the institutional risks that had led to the catastrophe. During my 7-year tenure there was a marked 70% reduction in higher level events
Analysis and remediation of oil and gas well accidents- led incident investigations for well control incidents