2024 EPG Asia Speakers
Dale Whiteman
AGC
Dale is currently serving as the EPG chair for 2024 and will provide the Welcome Remarks for EPG Asia!
Neil Mendes
Alpine Polytech
Energy Market Update for 2025 and Beyond
The traditional metrics for managing and predicting O&G trends are so 20th century. In this presentation, we will discuss the outlook, new norms and evolving factors that are painting the landscape for our industry.
Speaker Bio
Neil Mendes has worked in the oilfield service industry with 25+ years working in the engineered materials arena. Currently Neil is the CEO of Alpine Polytech an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 Accredited Laboratory providing material and equipment performance testing and consulting services to the Energy Market. Alpine works with all fluids and environments that polymers will see in service, including H2, H2S, HF, CH4, CO2, CCUS from cryogenic to 300˚C and from vacuum to 40,000 psi.
Prior to Co-founding Alpine Polytech, Neil spent 20 years with Greene, Tweed & Company, the last 15 years in executive management. From 2009-2014, Neil was Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Greene, Tweed Company, prior to that (2001-2009), he served as General Manager/Vice President of the Oilfield Business Group.
Buc Slay
Alpine Polytech
Extreme Environment in Situ Polymer Testing
What if you could perform a tensile pull while your specimen is immersed in the same media, pressure, and temperature of the actual downhole application? You might be interested in this presentation. You will earn about new cutting edge, patent- pending technology that allows for in situ testing in the lab.
Speaker Bio:
Buc Slay is the CTO of Alpine Polytech, a material and equipment testing laboratory. He graduated from Texas A&M with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Material Science. For over a decade he worked for Halliburton and Weatherford leading efforts to select and test materials for oil and gas recovery. Buc co-founded Alpine, a company that provides high performance testing of materials and equipment used in upstream, midstream, and downstream applications. This involves all aspects of seal technology including Hydrogen, CO2, H2S, failure analysis, and life estimation. He also participates in ISO, NACE, and API committees. In his spare time he chases his two teenage boys across mountain tops by foot, mountain bike, or snow skis.
Charlie Pitts
XMEK
Seal Failure from the Molder's Perspective
You have heard that two wrongs don’t make a right. Well two rights do not make a right either. In the case of rubber molding, Only Two Rights do make a Right. We must get the design right; we have to get the material selection right… and we have to get the processing and molding right. If one of the three are wrong, we are in trouble. We can select the best material for the application, we can create the best design for the application, but if we do not process and mold correctly, we can still have a seal failure. In this presentation, we will look at some common defects caused by the process and molding that will lead to failure in the field but most importantly, we will discuss solutions. The big take away for this presentation to arm the engineer with some knowledge of process and molding of rubber and understanding the related flaws. This will be an interactive dialogue with some hands-on involvement from the audience.
Speaker Bio
Charlie is a Strategic Business Manager for XMEK. He is a Business Development Professional with Engineering and Operations experience. Charlie has enjoyed a successful 45-year career in the Oil and Gas Industry, creating partnerships for success by growing people while developing technology. Charlie has been active in the EPG for over 25 years and has held many positions including the EPG Chair. He is currently the Assistant Chair for EPG. On the personal side, Charlie is author of “Cross That Bridge…Before You Get There”, and enjoys photography, he teaches a jobs class at church, “Partnering with Purpose” and most of all, he enjoys the grand babies! He is looking forward to continuing to serve the members of the EPG.
Craig Watkinson
XMEK
Solubility Parameters
Is your application “solar system” getting too close to your “sun”? How do your planets dance?
Solubility Parameters: More than compatibility! How and why a “simple” thermodynamic theory can be used to predict so many aspects of polymer-media interactions. An explanation of how an insight into solubility parameters can help in successful sealing.
Speaker Bio
Craig has spent the last 30+ years in the field of Seals and Sealing, covering everything from “simple” O-ring specifications to the design and development of complex solutions such as those on the landing gear of aircraft like the Airbus A380.
Former Head of Technology at ERIKS Seals and Polymer UK and various positions at Greene, Tweed culminating in 3 years as Global Technical Training Lead. Craig came back to the “dark side” at Xmek a year ago following a 3 year “bus mans holiday” designing and developing coatings and metallic piston rings, working with WinGD and MAN, for some of the worlds largest and most powerful maritime combustion Engines.
A farther of 4 (I know he don’t look young enough!), he spends a lot of time on the side of a soccer field watching his son and running round after his three girls. When not watching his son, he loves watching his local football team Chesterfield FC.
Afternoon Sessions
Dr. Tim Bremner
CDI
Thermo-Mechanical Processing Influences on Final Properties of Thermoplastic Components
Speaker Bio
Since May 2022, Dr. Bremner has served as the Materials Technology Director for Advanced Sealing Technologies, a Michelin High Tech Materials Company. Prior to this, Tim held the position of Materials Technology Director for CDI Energy Products. From 2004 to 2019, Dr. Bremner was the Vice-President of Materials Technology for Hoerbiger Corporation, and during this time additionally acted as Co-Director of the APPEAL Industrial Research Consortium based at Texas A&M University in College Station Texas, working on a variety of industrially sponsored projects related to the use of high performance engineering polymers across energy sector applications. Dr. Bremner’s 36 years of experience in the world of polymers spans a wide range of fundamental and applied R&D, including product development, polymer process technology development, catalyst development and reaction scale up, process control and modeling, novel characterization methods and instrumentation development.
Dr. Chia Siew Peng
AGC AP
Harnessing Fluoropolymers: Enhanced Solutions for the Energy Industry
The presentation provides an overview of fluoropolymers, highlighting their unique properties and characteristics. It explores the various applications of fluoropolymers in the energy industry, showcasing their versatility and effectiveness in demanding environment and how they can also help with enhancing the industry's operations.
Speaker Bio
Dr Chia Siew Peng holds the position of Senior Technical Manager at AGC Asia Pacific in Singapore, with the primary emphasis on delivering technical support and leading research and development efforts in the field of AGC Chemicals fluoroproducts. With a doctorate in Chemistry from Nanyang Technological University and nearly a decade of experience at AGC, she has acquired extensive knowledge and a deep understanding of the performance, applications, and uses of fluoroproducts.
Eric Bucci
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions
Sealing Challenges in Hydrogen Value Chain
Speaker Bio
After graduation from The University of Texas with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1991, Eric went directly into the sealing industry with Utex Industries as a design engineer. After four years at Utex, Eric joined Trelleborg Sealing Solutions in 1995 (then known as Busak+Shamban). Eric held several positions ranging from applications engineer to segment manager for oil & gas to the current global technical manager for energy role which he’s held for the past three years.
One of Eric’s objectives is developing new initiatives within Trelleborg that promote Trelleborg Sealing Solutions as a global leader in engineered sealing systems. This begins with forming partnerships with key customers. Identifying customer needs drives new products and materials needed for this segment and solidifies Trelleborg as a pioneer in the marketplace. Additional objectives are training and fostering new talent within Trelleborg relative to the Energy industry. Eric is also the technical liaison between the Trelleborg sales staff, manufacturing, R&D and SCM. Connecting people within Trelleborg to the customer base will help ensure we stay on the leading edge of sealing innovation.
In his spare time, Eric enjoys unprofessional auto racing, continually raising his 26 and 23 year old daughter and son, spending time with his seven siblings, and traveling for business and leisure.
