CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2023 AWARD WINNERS
Presented at REX2023 in Houston, Texas, four individuals and two members were honored for their dedication and service. Without the participation and commitment of our members, much of the research conducted would not be completed nor relevant to the industry. We are proud to acknowledge members who have gone above and beyond in service to the energy pipeline industry’s success through a sustained commitment to PRCI.
CONGRATULATIONS 2023 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDEES
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Award have dedicated their time and effort to help advance PRCI’s initiatives through noteworthy contributions to the achievement of its mission, goals, and programs. These awards are a token of our appreciation and gratitude for their continued dedication. Thank you for your years of service as a leader within PRCI.
Currently within the Hydrogen group of Shell’s Project and Technology organization, Taylor Shie joined the operator in 2013 and started his volunteer efforts with PRCI in the corrosion technical committee in 2014.
Taylor has over 20 years of experience in pipeline integrity management with a variety of focus areas. His career began with DNV in Columbus, OH where he developed expertise related to fracture mechanics, stress corrosion cracking, in-line inspection tool validation, root cause analysis, and risk management. He developed expertise related to coatings, corrosion, crack management, hydrotesting, facility integrity, and now hydrogen. Taylor became involved in industry organizations and activities such as ASME where he was nominated and elected as an ASME Fellow, and the International Pipeline Conference, which he chaired last year.
After moving to the Integrity and Inspection Technical Committee, he served as the Vice Chair and a rotating chair from 2018 to the end of 2022. Taylor is currently a co-champion of the Pathway to Achieving Efficient and Effective Crack Management Strategic Research Priority and an active participant within the Emerging Fuels Institute. Taylor played an instrumental role in Shell's PRCI 2022 In-Kind Support Award.
TAYLOR SHIE, SHELL
Eric Amundsen, Energy Transfer
Eric Amundsen is responsible for all operating aspects of gathering, treating, and processing relative to natural gas and liquid transport assets as the Senior Vice President of Operations at Energy Transfer.
In his 40 years of professional experience, Eric has held over 20 direct leadership positions in areas that include pipeline construction management and quality assurance, pipeline integrity management, corrosion control, metallurgical services, underground natural gas and liquids storage.
Eric has served on the PRCI Executive Assembly since 2005. He has been a member of the Executive Board since 2007, in addition to serving as Vice Chair and now as the Chair.
Eric was instrumental in the inception and development of the Technology Development Center (TDC). Without his leadership the TDC would not be what it is today.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2023 IN-KIND SUPPORT AWARDEE
Recipients of the In-Kind Support Award are companies which have provided significant contributions deemed “substantially above and beyond” the expectations for member participation and for supporting the furthering of PRCI research programs to enhance the integrity, reliability, and environmental performance of energy pipelines around the world. These awardees have provided the support in a manner which has made major contributions to the success of many PRCI research initiatives. Thank you your significant contributions and support of PRCI.
As one of PRCI’s founding members, TC Energy has a long and exciting history collaborating with PRCI and the industry.
With its sights set high on the future and focus on enhancing the industry’s sustainability through investment in research, TC Energy has invested approximately $158 million in R&D projects across North America over the past decade.
TC Energy Problem Solvers are empowered to participate and contribute industry knowledge to support the advancement of tools and technologies to continue keeping pipelines safe and reliable. This point of pride is demonstrated through an outstanding PRCI membership engagement of over 350 active TC Energy Problem Solvers, enabling its staff to serve in leadership positions across all roles in PRCI including boards, technical committees, strategic research priorities, and projects.
Consistently a leader in pipeline industry research and a significant contributor to PRCI programs, TC Energy recognizes the benefits of innovating with PRCI and values the collaborative international forum that PRCI provides.
As one of world’s largest integrated oil and gas companies and a world leader in hydrocarbon exploration, production, refining, distribution and marketing, Saudi Aramco has been a significant contributor and provides a unique perspective contributing to the significance of the global nature of our pipeline operations since recommitting to PRCI in 2019.
The men and women of Saudi Aramco are firmly dedicated to the resolution that energy is opportunity, and Saudi Aramco actively provides opportunities to enable its staff to serve in leadership positions across all roles in PRCI including the board, technical committees, strategic research priorities, and projects. Saudi Aramco enables its employees to step up to lead and oversee the execution of research, which places PRCI is in a position to achieve its goals of the Strategic Plan, and ultimate mission and vision of the organization.
Saudi Aramco has graciously provided in-kind support to PRCI, most recently for inline inspection data on over 50km of pipelines.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2023 DISTINGUISHED RESEARCHER AWARDEEs
Recipients of the Distinguished Researcher Award have enhanced the integrity, reliability, and environmental performance of energy pipelines around the world through the dedication of their time and effort. These awards are a token of our appreciation and gratitude for their continued dedication. Thank you for your dedication and service as a researcher within PRCI.
Rick began his career as a researcher in applied atmospheric sciences with the Alberta Research Council. After 15 years, Rick joined Enbridge Pipelines and learned about the developing area of computational pipeline monitoring and included time as Supervisor of the Enbridge Pipeline Modeling team. His research interests continued as a recognized SME with the Enbridge Leak Detection Testing & Research team.
Retiring from Enbridge in 2020 after almost 28 years of service, he had the opportunity to make contributions to various industry efforts through PRCI, API, CSA, IPC, and iPIPE throughout his Enbridge career.
Rick was introduced to PRCI in 2008 by Enbridge’s Don Scott, also now retired, who championed the industry value of PRCI and the SOM Technical Committee. His active participation in applied pipeline research in partnership with highly qualified SME talent and a significant commitment by operators was an invaluable education and provided a rewarding research landscape. Projects in leak detection technology development and testing provided many challenges and rewards, as well as being a critical part of developing the PRCI Leak Detection Strategic Research Priority.
Rick has shared that his time working with PRCI and industry colleagues was a much-appreciated career highlight.
rick barlow
Bill Bruce is a Senior Principal Consultant of Welding Technology, at DNV in Dublin, Ohio.
He has been involved in pipeline welding research and development continuously since his graduation from The Ohio State University in 1981. Prior to joining DNV, Bill was a Technology Leader in the Materials Section at Edison Welding Institute that included a four-month secondment at TWI in Cambridge England and a Senior Engineer at Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Company.
Bill has carried out numerous projects pertaining to safety and integrity aspects of repair and modification of in-service pipelines by welding. His areas of interests include pipeline construction, repair welding, inspection techniques, and failure analysis. He also pioneered the use of lasers for mapping corrosion damage on exposed pipelines.
In addition to his leadership within PRCI, Bill serves as a leader in a number of industry associations including the American Welding Association and the American Petroleum Institute.
Bill received the PRCI Distinguished Researcher Award in 2002, and his continued dedication to the organization and his commitment to pipeline safety has him recognized again.