Petrotrin Trinmar Operations
located in Point Fortin, Trinidad and Tobago

My name is Renny Hans Jaikissoon and I am currently employed as a Projects Engineer (Mechanical) with Petrotrin Trinmar Operations (Trinmar). Trinmar is an offshore-based Oil and Gas Exploration Company located in Point Fortin, Trinidad and Tobago (the most southerly island in the Caribbean). I entered the company as a Graduate Trainee Engineer upon completion of my Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Graduating Class of 2000.

THE INTERVIEW

Upon completion of my degree, I sent out several applications for employment to the various Oil & Gas, Petrochemical and Manufacturing Industries in Trinidad. My first interview was with a lease operator that operated one of the offshore blocks off the East Coast of Trinidad. The position advertised was that of a Drilling Engineer Trainee. This was my first interview and things did not go the way I had expected.  I realized that I was not prepared for this interview. I thought that my good grades and personality would be sufficient to get me the job, however these characteristics were not adequate to secure the position. I used that experience as a learning experience for my second interview, which was with Trinmar, my present employer.

Upon receiving the interview invitation from Trinmar, I began researching the potential employer. This research included background information about the company, its primary business, the company’s mission, vision and values, and the infrastructure of the company. A lot of the research information was easily available via the Internet.  With this preparation work completed, my second interview was definitely more promising than the first. A couple of weeks later, I was informed that I was successful at the interview and was requested to report to the Trinmar’s Human Resource Section to review the contract documents for my two (2) year engagement as a Graduate Engineer Trainee. I was subsequently assigned to the Project Engineering Section of the Production Operations Department, for the two-year duration.

LIFE AS A GRADUATE TRAINEE - FIRST PROJECT EXPERIENCE

My first project experience was land based. During the first week of entering the world of work, I was assigned to work alongside one of the Projects Engineer based at the Trinmar Tank Farm. The project involved the installation and commissioning of a multimillion-dollar Heater Treater Unit. The concept behind the project was to break down the emulsion band between oil and water in the storage tanks by the application of heat. This project immediately put into practise some of the engineering theory covered at my University. Subjects like heat and mass transfer, strength of materials and fluid dynamics were directly applied to this scenario. The appropriate engineering codes and standards supplemented the basic theories from both a technical and practical standpoint. I also realized that even though a lot of theory was covered, learning is a continuous process.  This project provided a unique opportunity for learning and growth to me as a young engineer and re-emphasized the need for continuing education and keeping abreast with the latest advances in technology.

Apart from the technical aspect of the job, dealing with people at various levels was also a learning experience. Proper communication is essential to good project management. The project engineer interfaces with a wide cross section of company personnel (e.g. support services), some of whom can delay a project inadvertently. Proper communication and monitoring can help to bridge this gap. In fact, according to PMI (Project Management Institute), 70% of the Project Manager’s job is communication.

ROLE OF THE PROJECTS ENGINEER

In Trinmar, depending on the nature of the job, the Projects Engineer is often the Project Manager. If the project has more of a Mechanical Nature where a lot of the work involves machinery (pumps, compressors, fired heaters, etc), pressure vessels (Separators, Scrubbers, Coalescers, etc) and Process Piping, then the Mechanical Project Engineer will also be the Project Manager. The Project Manager is responsible for managing the triple constraints – Scope, Schedule and Budget. In-house support from the other various engineering disciplines (Civil, Electrical and Instrumentation) is often enlisted on these projects.

One of the first things that I realized is the amount of responsibility a Projects Engineer has in carrying out the work. The following outlines some of the Projects Engineer (Mechanical) roles and responsibility:

• Budget Preparation and Project Schedules
• Preliminary and Detailed Engineering Design for Scope of Works
• Selection and Sizing of Pumps, Compressors, Valves, Meters, Scrubbers and Separators
• Pipeline Modeling and Simulation
• Procurement of Materials
• Negotiations with Contractors and Suppliers
• Development of Tender Packages with focus on Scope of Works
• Tender Evaluation
• Management of Projects
• On site Supervision of contractor personnel during Construction phase
• Startup and Commissioning of installed Plant/Equipment/Systems
• Retrofit of Existing Facilities with minimal downtime to Plant/Equipment

The Projects Engineer literally takes a project from the conceptual stage to the implementation / execution stage, as my Alma Mater would say - A Posse Ad Esse, from possibility to actuality.

PROJECTS OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS

Further to the Heater Treater project, I was involved with projects such as conversion of flat bottom production tanks to conical bottom production tanks, fabrication and installation of oil and gas manifolds, installation of a motor driven variable speed reciprocating pump and installation of submarine pipelines. The various projects each provided a unique opportunity for learning and growth since these projects varied in magnitude, project coordination skills and level of technical competence required. The ability to multitask and good time management are extremely important characteristics required by the Projects Engineer.

One of the major realizations from these projects was that lessons learned from each project must be captured and documented. These lessons provide the mechanism for continuous improvement and aid in the enhancement of the project cycle.

Currently I am engaged with Procurement and Installation of two Motor Driven, Four Stage, Reciprocating, Natural Gas Compressors; Mechanical Engineering Support on two Natural Gas Turbine Packages for Offshore Power Generation and Facilities Upgrade of an Offshore Platform (PL.14). Working on these large projects provides an opportunity to interact with a lot of people with various backgrounds and levels of technical expertise. Information sharing and technology transfer makes the Project Engineering life a very intriguing and exciting field to be involved in. There is never a dull or monotonous moment. Based on my experiences to date, working as a Projects Engineer is certainly a very rewarding and worthwhile endeavor.