Experience

Article
Ammonia Plant Business Interruption Dispute Provided expert witness testimony in a multi-million dollar business interruption claim. Evaluated operating records, estimated business interruption losses due to a power outage. Business Interruption , Expert Witness/Testimony , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance
Business Interruption Damages Claim by Concrete Supplier Provided an expert consultant business interruption loss estimate for damages to a concrete products producer as a result of an incident at an oil refinery. Business Interruption , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance
Chemical Plant Business Interruption Claim Analyzed the impact of a major equipment fabrication error on a chemical plant business interruption (BI) claim including schedule delay and financial impacts. Business Interruption , EPC-related , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Safety
Chemical Plant Insurance Claim Support Provided comprehensive technical and accounting support for a property damage claim settlement and analysis for a chemical manufacturing plant that was damaged during a hurricane. Work included review of all repair cost estimates and invoiced repair invoices, as well as analysis of claimed damages discovered and submitted post-recovery. Assistance was also provided during final claim settlement negotiations. Business Interruption , Property Damage
Damages from Steam Turbine Failure Assisted in determining economic damages resulting from failures associated with a new steam turbine that was provided and installed by a turbine manufacturer at a power generation facility. Conducted independent assessment of economic losses suffered by electric cooperative as a result of both short-term and long-term performance shortfalls and outages. Business Interruption , EPC-related , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , Pricing
Economic Damages Litigation - Plant Fire Following furnace damage and rebuild, provided expert regarding property damage costs and normal maintenance/scheduled turnaround/betterment costs. Similarly, business interruption costs were compiled with reference to market situation and product volumes that were available from inventory. Business Interruption , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , Physical Asset Appraisal
FCC Construction Litigation Provided expert testimony regarding allegations that construction errors in the installation of an FCC catalyst cooler resulted in a significant business interruption claim. Assisted in discovery, analyzed operating data, evaluated design issues, calculated property damages and business interruption losses. Business Interruption , EPC-related , Expert Witness/Testimony , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , Property Damage
Incident Analysis - Petrochemicals Performed an investigation analysis following fire and explosion incidents at a major Gulf Coast manufacturing facility. The engagement entailed development of the sequence of events, root cause analysis, assessment of the decision to rebuild, and reconstruction monitoring. An independent project schedule and cost estimate for the plant reconstruction was developed. Business Interruption , EPC-related , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , OSHA-related , Property Damage , Safety
Paraxylene (PX) Contract Dispute On behalf of a major international buyer of paraxylene, prepared an expert analysis concerning damages claimed by a large US based supplier. Analysis included a detailed evaluation of supplier's paraxylene manufacturing economics. Business Interruption , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , Pricing
Subsea Pipeline Rupture Assisted attorneys in investigating the circumstances surrounding a rupture of a subsea crude oil pipeline caused by a vessel dragging an anchor. This assignment included a review of the impact on crude oil gathering system and receiving terminal operations, the owner's emergency response, subsea pipeline repair costs, and a determination of the maximum insurable loss. Business Interruption , Offshore , Pipeline , Property Damage , Safety , Waterborne/Marine
Refinery Business Interruption Prepared detailed analyses of property damage, business interruption, and demurrage claims resulting from a vessel allision with a refinery dock. Business Interruption , Property Damage , Waterborne/Marine
Pipeline Contamination Dispute Assisted in a claim involving an alleged y-grade/NGL pipeline contamination from a gas processing facility. Examined the following key areas to evaluate the claim: pipeline hydraulics, laboratory records, chronology of pipeline sample data, reasonableness of claimed expenses, gas processing facility operation, and records. Business Interruption , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , Pipeline
Refinery Business Interruption Determined the economic damages suffered by a refiner as a result of multiple incidents which eventually led to reduced feed to the refinery. Project required the analysis of all refining units, including their actual and planned operations and maintenance. Alternative utilizations of feedstock and supply of products were also investigated. Business Interruption
Polyolefins Plant Explosion Assisted attorneys and company in preparation for litigation and negotiation with government agencies while investigating the cause of an explosion which caused the death of over 20 people. Assisted risk management in preparing and negotiating property damage and business interruption claims in excess of $1.3 billion. Business Interruption , Expert Witness/Testimony , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , OSHA-related , Property Damage , Safety
Polypropylene Manufacturing Assisted in a dispute concerning insurance claims for property damage and business interruption in connection with a reactor incident during construction of a production facility. Business Interruption , EPC-related , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Property Damage
Refining Market Forecast Investigated business interruption claims from fuels refineries, lube refineries, cement plants, fuels distributors, and chemicals manufacturers due to the closure of marine access following the release of oil into the waters surrounding the plants. Business Interruption
Gas Plant Explosion & Subsequent Insurance Claims Assisted resolution of claims between insurance company and Owners/Operators related to a gas plant explosion. Reviewed property damage and business interruption claims for accuracy and veracity. Business Interruption , Pipeline , Property Damage
Crane Accident Claim Analysis Analyzed business interruption and property damage insurance claim by a refinery operator resulting from a crane accident. This included analysis of the cost to repair the physical damage from the accident, the impact to schedule and cost of a process unit turnaround that was in progress at the time of the accident, and valuation of lost production due to the accident. Business Interruption , Operations/Maintenance , Property Damage
Refinery Lost Profits Claim Developed an opinion of reasonable lost profits, resulting from a crude oil supply force majeure and refinery downtime after a fire. Reviewed testimony and refinery linear program files. Business Interruption
Review Insurance Claim Reviewed a petroleum refinery business interruption insurance claim resulting from a dock closure because of an oil spill. Business Interruption , Environmental , Operations/Maintenance , Waterborne/Marine
Plant Commissioning Review Provided initial guidance and comments regarding the development of a commissioning and start-up schedule for a polypropylene plant. Provided initial input into how plant start-up incidents affected the commissioning schedule. Business Interruption , Operations/Maintenance
Shipyard Insurance Claim Analysis Assessed a business interruption claim filed by a shipyard that resulted from a third-party incident. Based upon our analysis of the claimant's business operations and performance, claim estimates were developed that formed the basis for settlement negotiations. Business Interruption , Waterborne/Marine
Petrochemicals Business Interruption Claim Assisted in a dispute concerning a petrochemicals business interruption claim and lawsuit after a declaration of force majeure by a manufacturer. Reviewed pertinent data and prepared written reports, affidavits, and deposition regarding the business interruption claims. Business Interruption
Refinery Business Interruption Assessment Estimated the lost profit (business interruption claim) stemming from a contractor incident which caused an extended refinery outage. Business Interruption
Power Outage Root Cause Analysis Root cause analysis of a Port of Houston container facility power outage and an assessment of potential exposure to business interruption claims. Business Interruption , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Property Damage
Refinery Fire Insurance Claim Assisted in a dispute concerning a rebuild estimate, which was the subject of subrogation, for an oil refinery process plant damaged by fire. Business Interruption , Property Damage
Refinery Business Interruption Assessment Assisted in a dispute concerning factors which may have contributed to an explosion and prepared an estimate of lost profits stemming from the resultant loss incident. Business Interruption , Expert Witness/Testimony , Property Damage
Refinery Fire Claim Provided litigation support for a valve supplier with regards to an insurance subrogation claim associated with a refinery fire. Determined extent of damage, cost and time to repair, and estimated business interruption if refinery facility had been designed per normal industry standard. Business Interruption , Expert Witness/Testimony , Property Damage
Ethanol Plant Freeze Claim Reviewed an insurance claim associated with an idled ethanol manufacturing facility being re-started. Purpose was to assess items listed in the claim to determine if damages were caused directly by a winter freeze or due to some other failure mechanism such as improper mothballing techniques or normal degradation of a once-operating facility. Business Interruption , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , Property Damage
Refinery Turnaround Dispute Arbitration Investigated the cause/origin of a leak that developed on a process unit after a turnaround, leading to an extended shutdown. Evaluated various damage models used to estimate the value of loss of use of the process unit and the reduced operation of the refinery. Submitted an expert report on the leak liability issues and the estimated value of loss of use of the process unit and its effects on refinery operations. Arbitration , Business Interruption , Expert Witness/Testimony , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance
Refinery Economic Losses Due to Fire Prepared an assessment to quantify the economic damages resulting from a refinery fire that caused damage to equipment and a lengthy shutdown of a refinery distillation and conversion train. Prepared a detailed report that documented both business interruption losses and repair costs for damaged equipment. Provided testimony in deposition and district bench trial. Business Interruption , Commercial Terms Review , Expert Witness/Testimony , Pricing , Property Damage
Pipeline Contractor Business Interruption Claims Reviewed business interruption claims made by welding contractors related to a pipeline incident that resulted in damage to the contractors' equipment. Prepared a report documenting our findings of the business loss claims. Business Interruption , Operations/Maintenance , Pipeline
Refractory Failure Investigation Provided expertise and technical assistance related to the evaluation of a failed refractory in a methanol reformer. Business Interruption , Forensic Analysis , OSHA-related , Property Damage
Refinery Business Interruption Dispute Following an unplanned shutdown, caused by extensive equipment damage, evaluated the refinery operation to confirm that all mitigation steps had been taken and also confirm the claimed business interruption losses. Business Interruption , Crude Oil Valuation , Forensic Analysis , LP/Planning Practice
Ethanol Plant Business Interruption Dispute Reviewed an insurance claim for an ethanol plant "opportunity loss" due to a power outage resulting from repair work on main electrical feed cables after being damaged by a construction contractor. Reviewed operating expenses and ethanol pricing during the subject period and provided an opinion on the reasonableness of the size of the claim. Business Interruption , Pricing
Marine Dock Business Interruption Claim Reviewed documents and provided analysis concerning a marine collision with the crude oil unloading dock, which resulted in a business interruption claim for a Gulf Coast refiner. Business Interruption , Waterborne/Marine
Refinery Business Interruption Claim On behalf of an insurer, calculated the business interruption expense for a Gulf Coast refinery associated with a delay in receiving crude oil via ship. Reviewed calculations provided by the refinery and opined on associated business interruption impacts associated with the delay in receiving crude oil shipments. Provided an expert report, which enabled a settlement in the dispute. Business Interruption , Waterborne/Marine
Refinery Business Interruption Claim Provided technical support for a business interruption claim associated with a refinery fire. Evaluated refinery linear program model used to develop the "but for" cases. Prepared a report with recommended corrections to the linear program model "but for" case output. Business Interruption , LP/Planning Practice
Electrical Supply Disruption Following the sudden loss of electrical supply to a chemical plant, which resulted in equipment damage, the chemical plant owner claimed that the electricity supplier was negligent. In addressing the root cause of the equipment damage, our work assessed the following parameters: (1) the nature of the supply contract; (2) the nature of the outage - whether intentional or inadvertent; (3) the chronology of events following the outage; (4) the designs of the electrical systems in question; and (5) the operational procedures in the event of a power outage and whether they were followed. Business Interruption , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , Property Damage
IPP/Refinery Power Generation Outage Dispute Assessed the cause(s) of supplier's steam and electricity generation failure and mitigating actions by the refinery/petrochemical customer. Preliminary findings and a document request were provided to the client. Arbitration , Business Interruption , Expert Witness/Testimony , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , Property Damage
Refinery Construction Dispute Provided expert consulting support assessing EPC contractor’s responsibilities, project execution, and start-up issues associated with the construction and start-up of a refinery expansion project. Assisted client in two areas: (1) assessed circumstances associated with a piping failure to determine if failure was due to poor engineering design; and (2) organized retained materials to assist with insurance claim. Arbitration , Business Interruption , EPC-related , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , Property Damage
Power Plant Insurance Claim Provided expert consulting services regarding operations and maintenance of a barge-mounted, diesel-powered turbine electric power generation facility.. Business Interruption , Forensic Analysis , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , Property Damage
Explosion Insurance Claim Provided report presenting a reasonable timeline and duration to source, contract, start, and conduct the demolition of the parts the Gas Plant damaged after the plant experienced a fire and explosion. Business Interruption , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , Pipeline , Property Damage
Ammonia Plant Failure Investigation Assisted in evaluating a series of insurance claims centered around separate events to determine a proximate cause. Work included reviewing design and operating records for a worldscale ammonia plant. Each of the events resulted in claims for property damage and business interruption. Prepared an analysis and report that evaluated the root cause for each of the events and whether the events were connected by a chain of causation. Business Interruption , Fertilizers , Operations/Maintenance , Property Damage
Electrostatic Precipitator Explosion Investigated the cause and origin of an explosion in an electrostatic precipitator used in a cement manufacturing plant that was the subject of an insurance claim. Reviewed operating records for temperatures, pressures, and flow rates through a rotating cement kiln. Evaluated operation of the electrostatic precipitator for anomalies prior to the explosion. Concluded that the cause and orgin related to a mechanical failure in the kiln. Provided findings to the owner and its insurer and supported decisions regarding coverage and subrogation issues. Business Interruption , Property Damage
Refinery Incident CLaim Assisted in the investigation of a refinery leak and fire. Coordinated the collection of information related to the incident and disseminated it to the relevant parties. Helped audit incident related retained materials and developed inventory documentation. Business Interruption , EPC-related , Operations/Maintenance , Property Damage
Ethylene Plant Construction Dispute Opined on the reasonable period of time for the completion phase of a rebuild project after a fire during an expansion project. Commented on the implementation of relief system changes during the rebuild to be in compliance with standards and codes. Business Interruption , EPC-related , Operations/Maintenance
Marine Dock Damage Insurance Claim Analyzed the business interruption insurance claim of petroleum product terminal that was impacted by marine dock damage caused by the collision of an arriving ship. Provided advice regarding potential mitigations concerning the terminal’s product movements. Business Interruption
Insurance - Sugar Mill: Lost Production Claim A steam-driven turbo-generator in a sugar mill failed, causing loss of production. There was a dispute between the mill owner and its insurer concerning the physical damages and the business interruption losses. We were engaged to evaluate the claim. Business Interruption
Refinery Economic Analysis Provided analysis of potential economic losses due to rupture of natural gas pipeline supplying a refinery. Business Interruption , Operations/Maintenance
Hurricane Product Shortage Claim Assessment Assessed a product shortfall by a chemical producer following Hurricane Harvey. Provided volume and revenue estimates, taking into consideration port closures and the timing of force majeure declarations. Arbitration , Business Interruption , Commercial Terms Review , Expert Witness/Testimony , LP/Planning Practice
Refinery Power Failure A power supply failure at a refinery resulted in a complete and extended outage of the refinery, as well as long-term impacts to refinery operation. Opined on the duration of the outage, the refiner’s actions, and refinery procedures during the restart effort with respect to typical refinery restart efforts. Also calculated the economic damages suffered by the refinery as a result of the power outage. Business Interruption , Expert Witness/Testimony , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , Property Damage
Insurance Support: Liability and Business Interruption Assessed the merits of a liability claim and business interruption claim associated with an equipment failure in a sulfuric acid regeneration facility. Advised on the value and key determinants of a business interruption claim. Business Interruption , Expert Witness/Testimony , Industry Practice/Standard of Care , Operations/Maintenance , Property Damage