Mark R. Lambert
Mark joined Watson Millican & Co. in August 2010. He has over 34 years of engineering and commercial experience in the natural gas, refining, and petrochemical industries.
Mark has advised producers, midstream service providers and private equity firms in evaluating acquisitions and grass roots investments. He has analyzed royalty payments and associated deductions for oil and natural gas production and developed cost allocations for natural gas processing and transportation systems. Mark has provided engineering expertise in large processing plant construction disputes, startups, and incident investigations for domestic and international facilities.
Mark has testified as an expert in a construction dispute, an oil & gas royalty case, and a safety incident in federal and state courts, and international arbitrations.
Qualifications
- B.S. Chemical Engineering – The University of Texas
- M.B.A. – Oklahoma City University
Expertise
- Plant operations and startup, Process plant and equipment engineering design, Process safety construction disputes, Management systems, Incident investigations, Midstream commercial evaluations, Oil and gas royalty evaluations, Asset valuations, Manufacturing quality systems and standards
Industries
- Natural gas, Refining, Petrochemicals, Polymers
Example Engagements
- Gas Pipeline Contamination Arbitration – Co-authored expert reports on behalf of an owner/operator for an arbitration in Latin America. The claim involved equipment damage and additional maintenance costs resulting from the provision of contaminated fuel gas for a combined cycle power plant. The matter was settled by the parties prior to the arbitration hearing.
- Gas Plant Flare Failure Incident Investigation – Investigated cause of fatality associated with the operational failure of process flare at a gas plant. Conducted on-site inspection of facility. Reviewed plant data and design, witness statements, and plant health and safety procedures and practices. Developed expert report associated with the incident.
- AAA Petrochemical Facility Construction Arbitration – Analyzed issues related to engineering design development for the construction of a polyethylene facility in South Texas. Assessed the level of completeness and the impact of proposed changes to piping and instrumentation diagrams. Prepared an expert report detailing the basis of the opinions and findings.
- Refinery and Petrochemical Facility Construction Arbitration – Analyzed issues related to engineering design for the construction of a large oil refinery and petrochemical facility in Asia. Assessed the changes proposed by the owner on the development of the piping and instrumentation diagrams and the three-dimensional models with reference to the industry standards, contractual specifications & procedures, and industry practice. Reviewed changes proposed to reduce construction costs. Prepared an expert report detailing the basis of the opinions and findings.
- Due Diligence – Assisted private equity firm with due diligence and evaluation of potential investment in midstream assets in the Permian Basin. Reviewed financial model of proposed facilities. Evaluated long term agreements with producer and interim agreement with a third party to secure temporary midstream services. Reviewed cost estimates and capacity of proposed crude oil and natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing facility versus volume forecasts.
- Transportation and Processing Unbundling – Unbundled the transportation and processing costs incurred by an exploration and production company for its natural gas production in the Permian Basin. Evaluated the operating conditions of each function and assessed their effect on the marketable condition of the natural gas as it pertains to determining allowable deductions from royalty payments. Estimated system fuel usage and hydrocarbon losses from condensate.
- Gas Processing Plant Startup –Provided on-site engineering support during construction and start-up of a natural gas and condensate processing plant in Central Asia. Identified design deficiencies to address operating problems. Developed protocol for performance test to ensure ability of gas plant to meet contractual guarantees.
- Naphtha Reformer Performance Test – Led the execution of a naphtha reformer unit performance test at a large Gulf Coast refinery. Analyzed process data gathered during maximum feed conditions to identify equipment constraints and impact on product quality. Evaluated expandability of existing equipment to eliminate bottlenecks. Assessed capability of upstream units to provide incremental feed.
- Refinery Amine System – Investigated the cause of hydrogen sulfide excursions in the fuel gas system at a major oil refinery. Assessed the capacity and acid gas removal efficiency of the fuel gas amine contactor. Quantified the acid gas loading of rich amine sources throughout the refinery. Identified the root cause of the excursions and developed recommendations to eliminate the problem and reduce energy consumption.
