Experience List

Name: Kearns Technical Solutions
Address: 33 Parmiter Street, London
Telephone: +447733047265

The list, below, includes a selection from the many projects our lead engineer has worked on.

2025
Main Contractor: Wood Group
Client: Saudi Aramco
Project: Southern and Northern Areas gas increments, Pre-FEED and FEED
Part of the specialist and project delivery team supporting Aramco in this significant expansion project; working closely with Projects and Process Engineering to prepare pre-FEED and FEED packages; rationalizing piping material specifications across a number of sites and sub-contractors.

2023 - 2024
Client: Air Products
Project: Hamburg Ammonia / Hydrogen Terminal
Involved in the production of the engineering class II estimate for a new ammonia and hydrogen terminal; reviewing material selection diagrams; working with Process engineering to develop P&ID’s; generation of technical specifications including coating and insulation; identification of material requirements for project execution; and coordinating activities with Air Products’ India. The role includes aiding similar projects in Immingham, UK, and Rotterdam, NL.

2021 - 2023
Main Contractor: SBM Offshore
Client: Petrobras
Project: Almirante Tamandare FPSO
Project discipline lead engineer for SBM in Schiedam, Netherlands. Covering all aspects of generation of technical specifications; identification of material requirements for project execution; production of material requisitions; technical and commercial bid evaluation; supplier selection and monitoring (including expediting and quality assurance); MTO; package engineering; Management of Change; component registration for 3-D model; material control and site support during construction. The Piping Materials team peaked at 14 full time engineers, managed on a hybrid office / at home basis.

2020
Main Contractor: Wood Group
Client: Kuwait Oil Company (KOC)
Project: Service Contracts – EF2058 EWDP I and II
Lead Piping Materials engineer responsible for generation of design documentation – including project specifications and tie-in schedule for existing (brownfield) facility. Role extended to include project engineering activities – weekly reporting to Client; corresponding with all disciplines to ensure engineering deliverables are issued to schedule. Supported Project Engineering with generation of monthly reports. Assisting Mechanical engineering in generation of Material Selection Diagrams.

2016 - 2019
Main Contractor: Wood Group
Client: Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC)
Project: Al-Zour Refinery
Project Management Consultancy, based in London, and supervising the Piping Materials engineering activities of four major Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractors executing work for the client’s new Al-Zour Oil Refinery in Kuwait. Responsibilities include reviewing contractor and sub-contractor documentation to ensure compliance with contractual requirements; responding to technical queries from contractors; and supervising contractors’ materials management systems.

2015
Main Contractor: AMEC Foster Wheeler
Client: Chevron
Project: Captain Enhanced Oil Recovery Project
Front End Engineering Design project for retrofitting polymer injection capabilities to Chevron’s existing North Sea Captain field. Incorporating both upgrades to existing facilities and a new platform. Project was a first of its kind for an offshore oilfield. Responsibilities included producing schedules for tying new works into existing plant; preparing material take-offs for piping and evaluating technical content of budget quotations; as well as assisting the Client with the production of Piping Class specifications and associated data sheets. Production and water injection lines up to CL900 at DN450 with hub connections.

2014
Main Contractor: AMEC
Client: Dana Petroleum
Project: Western Isles Development Project
Dana Petroleum’s order for an FPSO for the Western Isles Development Project (WIDP) was placed with Chinese fabricator, COSCO. The Client appointed AMEC as design consultants. Working closely with the Chinese, and with teams in London and on site in Qidong, China, AMEC developed a program of activities to ensure legal, safety and quality milestones were achieved. Responsibilities included writing reports on Piping Classes, PED compliance and Piping Special items: Pipe Classes developed in accordance with ASME B31.3 and BS 8010.

2013 - 2014
Main Contractor: Bechtel
Client: Petronas
Project: Pacific North West LNG FEED Project
Lead piping materials engineer on a FEED for a proposed new LNG export terminal in British Columbia, Canada, for Petronas. Responsibilities included reviewing Client Standards and Specifications, preparation of project specific Specifications and Standards for Piping (aligned with Client specifications); liaising with other engineering disciplines and offices – principally, Houston; supervising material take off for estimating purposes. This was a competitive FEED. Bechtel were one of three groups submitting FEED proposals.

2012 - 2013
Main Contractor: Bechtel
Client: Reliance
Project: Jamnagar Refinery J3
Lead piping materials engineer (Off-sites and Utilities) on the J3 expansion project for Jamnagar refinery in India - the largest oil refinery in the world in terms of throughput. The project comprised multiple processing units including major new Ethylene and Gasification facilities. Over 400 pipe classes were issued, covering a very wide range of services and operating conditions, with various design codes including ASME B31.1, B31.3, B31.4 and Indian Boiler Regulations. Services included cooling water lines up to NPS 102”; HP (CL2500) steam up to NPS 42”; exotic materials (e.g. Hastelloy) to CL600 and NPS 24”. Extensive use was made of Bechtel's global business units and a high degree of co-operation was required. Remaining tasks were transferred to the Mumbai execution centre at the end of 2013.

2011 - 2012
Main Contractor: Chicago Bridge and Iron (CB&I)
Client: Gazprom / BP / Yamal LNG
Project: Various - including Yamal LNG pre-FEED, and the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion
In a busy year at CB&I, work spanned several significant projects, usually in the role of lead piping materials engineer, including the FEED stage of a proposed LNG export terminal in sub-arctic Russia (Yamal LNG) - a multi-billion dollar project with challenging environmental conditions and a heavily modularized design concept;.and on the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion (SCPX) project - an extension of previous work carried out for BP on Oil & Gas Transportation lines running through Azerbaijan and Georgia. Pumping station valving included up to NPS 56” at CL900. Also, for CB&I assisted with bid reviews on Nexen's Golden Eagle Area Development project (North Sea, Off-shore).

2010
Main Contractor: Chicago Bridge and Iron
Client: Hyundai Heavy Industries / ENI Norge
Project: Goliat FPSO
Topsides design for a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility to be constructed by Hyundai Heavy Industries for ENI Norge and destined for operation in the Barents Sea. Operating to a very tight schedule, my responsibilities included the generation of 250+ datasheets for Piping Special Items (filters and strainers, flame arrestors, hoses and hose couplings, flow sight glasses, valve interlocks, sampling probes and chemical injection quills, static mixers, eductors, air traps, plus out-of-specification valves and fittings). Compliance with NORSOK standards was a project requirement.

2007 - 2009
Main Contractor: Chicago Bridge and Iron
Client: Hunt Oil
Project: Peru LNG Project
One of the largest industrial projects ever to be undertaken in Peru (total investment for the project was over US$3.5bn), CB&I were appointed to engineer, procure and construct the LNG export terminal and commission and operate the plant for its first year of production. As a member of the project team from project award right through to commissioning (first gas export), roles included co-ordination of GRE pipe systems; significant input into the design of large diameter pipe subject to vacuum conditions (in particular the size, spacing and design of full encirclement rings); monitoring requisitioning and the bid review progress for the piping group as a whole, reporting to senior project management on a weekly basis.

2005 - 2007
Main Contractor: CB&I
Client: South Hook LNG
The South Hook Terminal is the largest Liquefied Natural Gas re-gasification terminal in Europe. CB&I were appointed to engineer, procure and construct the LNG import terminal. Responsibilities incorporated the development of technical specifications of piping components and material requisition generation for piping and valves, in which capacity, there was direct involvement in the purchasing strategy that generated a saving of over £1/2M for bolting materials alone. The project was PED compliant.

2003 - 2005
Main Contractor: John Brown Hydrocarbons / CB&I
Client: Nexen
Project: Buzzard
The Buzzard oil field is located 100km north-east of Aberdeen, in the North Sea. CB&I (at that time operating as John Brown Hydrocarbons Ltd) were responsible for topsides Engineering, Procurement and Construction of three bridge-linked platforms. Over and above normal materials engineering activities, I had a special responsibility for ensuring that piping design complied with PED requirements, including the preparation of Particular Material Appraisals and compilation of PED Technical Files.

2002 - 2003
Main Contractor: Foster Wheeler Energy Limited (FWEL)
Client: Conoco Philips
Project: Immingham CHP
Immingham Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP) is a gas-fired power station in North Lincolnshire, England, with a generating capacity of 750MW, designed by Foster Wheeler Energy. Engineering was based in FWEL head offices in Reading, and included generation of material specifications, material take off reconciliations; vendor document reviews and issuance of technical specifications / material requisitions for piping special items.

2000 - 2002
Main Contractor: Foster Wheeler Energy Limited
Client: Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals
Project: Seal Sands
Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals’ Seal Sands plant was custom designed and built to produce an anti-depressant drug. I undertook many roles on this project, from post contract award through to commissioning, including generating sub-contract requisitions for pipe racks and for the main tank farm and as Vessel Engineer for the agitated reactor vessel package. Originally based in the Teesside design office, I moved to site as technical support during construction and commissioning.

1999 - 2000
Main Contractor: Foster Wheeler Energy Limited
Client: Shell (Stanlow Refinery)
After initial involvement with the Project during the design phase in Foster Wheeler’s Glasgow offices, I moved to site (Shell Oil’s Stanlow refinery) with the construction team. This was an “Alliance”-type project, and responsibilities included supervision of the Alliance Partners’ material control systems using Shell's MESC materials engineering system run on a stand-alone IBM A/S400 machine, liaison with Client’s main stores and consultation on matters relating to mechanical equipment and site purchasing.

1998
Main Contractor: Foster Wheeler Energy Limited
Client: Roche Products
Project: Dalry Vitamin C plant
Transferring from Foster Wheeler’s Procurement Department into Engineering as a Vessel Engineer, early experience gained in the areas of product specification and design. Involved in the design of a variety of coded pressure vessels and storage tanks, including carbon steel, stainless steel and glass lined vessels and agitated reactors, making use of proprietary design software and in compliance with relevant codes and standards.

1996 - 1998
Main Contractor: Foster Wheeler Energy Limited
Client: BP
Project: Grangemouth Refinery, FCCU Revamp
Foster Wheeler, Mitsui Babcock and Watson Norrie worked in an alliance partnership with BP to carry out this project. My work involved liaison between FW project engineering and purchasing, mechanical and instrumentation contractors and client project management with respect to material supply, inspection, storage and issue, during the engineering, procurement and construction stages of the project, including critical plant shutdown and start up. Management of the site material control system and of the BP stores personnel was a direct responsibility. The project was noted for innovative purchasing strategies, in which I was closely involved. I operated from the Glasgow office as a Buyer of key project equipment, particularly instrumentation (control valves, temperature, pressure and flow meters, gas monitors and emergency shutdown systems). While price and delivery were always uppermost in negotiations with suppliers, other factors included reliability, quality assurance, technical compliance and compatibility, in consultation with internal customers, to ensure that end user requirements were fully satisfied in the most cost-effective manner.

1994 - 1995
Main Contractor: Foster Wheeler Energy Limited
Clients: Various
Role: Field (External) Expeditor
Working out of FW’s UK head office in Reading as a field expeditor, this role entailed visiting major suppliers in the UK and Europe, assessing progress against production programs, site requirements and contractual obligations. Visits were arranged in consultation with Engineering and Procurement, and frequently involved liaison with Client representatives. Clients included: Esso; Mobil, Yanbu; Lasmo Oil; Texaco, Pembroke. Many different types of suppliers were visited (valve and piping stockists and manufacturers; control valve manufacturers; suppliers of measurement instrumentation; pump and compressor manufacturers; foundries; design houses; pressure vessel and heat exchanger fabricators). Written reports, with wide distribution amongst internal and external customers, were generated for each visit, covering commercial matters, outstanding engineering issues, quality assurance and manufacturing progress.

1993
Main Contractor: Foster Wheeler Energy Limited
Client: Sinopec
Project: Urumqi PTA Plant, Xinjiang, China
Harking back to a scarcely believable time, when UK companies were exporting manufactured goods to China, The Urumqi Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) plant was a key project for the development of the aromatics industry in China, which is still going strong today. The senior material controller in FWEL’s Glasgow office, functions on this project included coordination of inspection, expediting and shipping activities for all materials orders, ensuring that all suppliers were aware of and adhered to commercial and technical requirements within contractually agreed time scales. Preparation of status reports and update of shipping schedules for management review was a particular responsibility. Acting on behalf of the purchasing department, the job involved working closely with inspection and shipping groups, the freight forwarders, document control, the engineering disciplines and project management. Only the office fax machine had more outgoing calls.

1990 - 1992
Main Contractor: Foster Wheeler Energy Limited
Client: BP / BP Chemicals
Project: Grangemouth Refinery and Polyethylene (PE) plant
Initially as an internal expeditor and subsequently as senior internal expeditor for FWEL, Glasgow, based between Glasgow and the Grangemouth site on various projects at the BP Oil Refinery and neighbouring Chemical plant, work involved coordinating all post order activities from suppliers, including documentation and delivery. As my role developed, I also acted as Purchasing Coordinator, and was responsible for the timely placement of all orders and reporting on progress of purchasing activities to weekly client review meetings.

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