Biography

Mark is a managing director of the Blacksmith Group / P-PIC which has served the energy pipeline industry since 2002. Prior to starting P-PIC, he worked for Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co. (HSB), the largest insurer of machinery and equipment in the world, for 23 years. During the first 14 years of his time within HSB, Mark worked for Radian Corporation (now part of AECOM), an engineering subsidiary serving the petrochemical, petroleum refining, metals processing, pipelines and electric power industries. He joined the parent company in 1993 and ran HSB’s worldwide Chemical, Oil and Gas Insurance Operations for five years. He testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee during Pipeline Safety Reauthorization in 2002.

He has worked for the senior executives and Boards of Directors following virtually every major pipeline accident since the late 1990s. Mr. Hereth has advised Company Boards by leading independent investigations and proposing long-term plans following major accidents for PG&E, El Paso Corporation, Olympic Pipeline and Colonial Pipeline. He also served as a lead advisor for Entergy following Hurricane Katrina as they worked to emerge from bankruptcy and then successfully realized insurance recovery for major damage to their gas distribution system.

He served as the technical lead for work group developing API 1173, Recommended Practice for Pipeline Safety Management Systems. The Secretary of Transportation appointed Mr. Hereth in December 2016 to the Voluntary Information Sharing Committee, a committee designated in the 2016 amendments to the Pipeline Safety Act to foster ways to improve the sharing of data and learnings from the use of integrity assessment technologies.

He is Vice Chairman of the INGAA Foundation. He has an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Ohio University.

Biography

Paul Moran is an Associate Director in Navigant’s Global Energy Practice with responsibility for leading engagements for clients in the oil and natural gas sector including pipeline and midstream companies, gas storage operators, gas and electric utilities, power generators and LNG exporters in addition to private equity and infrastructure funds. His 14 years of energy industry experience include managing client engagements and providing subject matter expertise related to corporate strategic planning, natural gas market analysis and forecasting, gas supply planning, risk management, business process improvement, organizational design and change management. Prior to entering consulting, Paul served as Director of Strategic Planning for CenterPoint Energy in Houston, TX. He holds an MBA from Indiana University.

Biography

Rhett Dotson has worked for 12 years as a consultant in the oil and gas industry. Rhett has developed technical expertise in analysis and testing for structural components and pipeline systems. His work with offshore systems has included strength and fatigue analysis performed on topsides and subsea components. This work has required knowledge of the ABS, API, and AISC structural codes. His work with pipelines systems has included assessment and engineering support for anomalies such as dents and wrinklebends in vintage pipeline systems as well as accident investigations due to third party damage in both onshore and offshore pipeline systems. Rhett has also served as an expert witness for a pipeline operator involving settlement related issues.

Rhett has performed extensive structural analyses using the finite element software ABAQUS on a variety of components. The structural analyses have include non-linear limit load analysis of platform topsides, well systems, subsea jumpers, manifolds, riser baskets, pipeline end terminations, umbilical pull tubes, damaged pipelines, flare booms, swivel flanges, pipeline dents, and other structural components. These analyses have included substantial involvement in contact modeling and nonlinear material properties. His work has been performed for design, cause of failure, and general assessment. Rhett was also responsible for the development of the proprietary Finite Element Dent Assessment Tool (FE-DAT) utilized by ROSEN to rapidly assess pipeline dents. Recent structural work has included the analysis and remediation of damaged natural gas pipelines and the determination of in-place pipeline strains based on survey data and finite element calculations.

Rhett is a registered professional engineer in Texas, Wyoming, and Oklahoma.

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Christopher is a Pipeline Integrity Engineer and Business Manager at ROSEN with responsibilities in the US, Mexico, and Central America. His experience is over 9 years’ in the pipeline industry, while the last 4 years have been at ROSEN. His initial focus was leading the commercial side of the In-Line Inspection as the business as the Manager of Products and Services. Now his role is Head of Integrity Solutions focusing on the commercialization of ROSEN technology and heading the Integrity Engineering and Software business in the region. Prior to ROSEN Christopher worked with a pipeline operator as a Pipeline Integrity Engineer. 

Biography

Keith Courtney has worked in the natural gas industry for over 28 years.  He is employed by Energy Transfer as the Pipeline Integrity Sr Manager for Intrastate gas pipeline systems and works at their corporate office in Dallas, Texas.   Keith is responsible for the integrity of 40,000 miles of transmission and gathering pipeline.

Keith started in the gas industry as a corrosion technician and worked in this field for over 8 years.  He has been working in the Integrity rim for the last 20 years. He implemented and is managing Energy Transfer’s Gas Integrity Management Plan.

Biography

Jens studied physics and computer science. He started at ROSEN 15 years ago assuring and increasing inline inspection performance by simulating the tools measurement setup with the help of FEM calculations. After a few years he was appointed head of the physics department within R&D which he was in charge of for almost 10 years. In that period he was both responsible and a driver for introducing the programming language Python as a state of the art solution for experiment control, data processing and algorithm prototyping. A large organizational change offered him a new role enabling to work on technology management and focus on ROSENs future needs. Besides of leading the related department Jens envisioned new ways for more efficient data processing and analysis to allow the best possible result quality and efficiency at that time. Today he is focusing on proving those ideas and fostering the base foundation for introducing the corresponding technology.

Biography

With 24 years’ experience in evaluating a wide range of technologies, including the use of composite materials in repairing pipelines and offshore risers, Dr. Alexander also joins us with the experience of being integrally involved in assessing the effects of dents and mechanical damage on the structural integrity of onshore and offshore pipelines. His work has involved finite element analysis, in situ monitoring, and full-scale destructive testing.

Dr. Alexander recently founded ADV Integrity, Inc., a start-up focused on business strategy and technology assessment. He received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Texas. He has authored more than 120 technical papers and has made presentations internationally on a wide range of subjects.
 

Biography

Captain David Murk, US Coast Guard (ret.), is the Pipeline Manager at the American Petroleum Institute (API) and is responsible for the oversight of infrastructure policy and technical issues to support and advocate for the safe and reliable transportation of petroleum liquid and natural gas by pipeline. David joined API having served twenty-six years in the public sector including twenty-four years with US Coast Guard and two years at US Department of Transportation (USDOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). In his last three years in the Coast Guard, David served as the Senior Maritime Advisor to the Secretary of Transportation. Immediately prior to joining API, David served as the Director of Field Operations in the Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA, where he helped lead over 140 pipeline inspectors in the oversight of federal safety regulations for interstate natural gas and petroleum liquid pipelines and liquefied natural gas facilities.
Murk began his career at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut earning a BS in Applied Science and has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. David, his wife Pam and boys reside in Maryland with their five dogs.

Biography

Stephanie Weidman is the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Program Director for the Railroad Commission of Texas’ Oversight and Safety Division. Ms. Weidman represents the Commission before PHMSA, the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives (NAPSR), other state and federal agencies, as well other public forums. In addition, she provides oversight to the agency’s pipeline safety inspectors in six regional offices throughout the state.

Ms. Weidman has been with the Commission since 2010 and has held various positions in the Pipeline Safety department including inspector, inspector team lead and inspection regional manager. Her job responsibilities included leading inspections, reviewing plans of correction and meeting with pipeline operators.

Ms. Weidman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
 

Biography

Simon Irvine joined ROSEN to support service development and operations within ROSEN’s Education Systems and Services. He comes with over 10 years’ international experience in education and learning, with a heavy focus on the oil and gas sector.