I am a final year Chemical Engineering student at the University of Strathclyde. On completion of my Masters degree in 2007 I intend to pursue a career in the upstream oil and gas industry. I am currently seeking a graduate position as a process engineer, preferably in an operational or development engineering role. I am interested in following this career path because I want to work on the largest and most ambitious projects and installations. I enjoy project work and look forward to the challenge of producing creative solutions to complex problems with the view to maximising productivity in this exciting and highly competitive industry.

Education

2002-2007 University of Strathclyde, Glasgow

5th year M.Eng Chemical Engineering student

Principal Subjects: Air Pollution Control, Water Pollution Control, Process Analysis, Plant and Process Design, Reactors, Separation Processes, Process Heat Transfer, Process Economics, Process Thermodynamics, Plastics Engineering, Computer Applications, Safety and Loss Prevention

1997 - 2002 Hermitage Academy, Helensburgh

7 SQA Highers: Grade A - Biology, Chemistry, Physics

Grade B - Maths

Grade C - English, Business Management, History

8 SQA S-Grades: Including Technological Studies and German

Chemical Engineering Design Projects January-May 2006

I worked closely with four other students on three projects running simultaneously. One project was to produce detailed process designs for a biodiesel plant; this complex project required the application of knowledge gained throughout my degree. I took an active role in every major part of the design procedure, from initial mass balances and scale up through to a feasibility study to evaluate the economic potential of the plant.

The second project involved producing conceptual designs for an Alkaline Hydrolysis plant. This involved looking at a novel approach to the process and investigating operability issues such as increasing throughput and finding waste disposal solutions for the process. I produced outline designs for increasing the operating capacity of the plant and provided recommendations about the legal issues associated with the process.

For the third project I used Aspen Dynamic to design a control system for a benzene plant. This allowed me to become familiar with a range of control schemes and their practical application to real processes.

I was able to develop my leadership, organisational and communication skills whilst driving these projects through to completion.. I achieved a composite mark of 70% for these projects.

Process Design Project January-May 2005

For this project I worked with five colleagues to design a complete process. I was responsible for carrying out a detailed financial analysis for a dimethylether plant and evaluating the commercial viability of the project. This involved determining the economic potential of the plant, looking at the current demand for dimethylether and predicting how this could change in the future. I also carefully considered internal and external factors that would influence this project including the strengths/weaknesses and opportunities/threats of this venture. This project enhanced my business analysis and accountancy skills, whilst giving me valuable experience at researching and updating historical cost data using the appropriate cost indices.

Detailed Equipment Design Project September-December 2004

During third year I worked with a small group to produce detailed designs for a heat exchanger. On the technical side I was responsible for working out the shell-side variables, such as tube spacing and baffle design. As this problem was relatively complex with many interrelated parameters, I made extensive use of both Mathcad and Excel to handle the large amounts of data effectively. Using published standards I was also able to ensure that our final design was safe as well as a cost effective solution. For the final report I played a major part in producing technical drawings for our design. On a non-technical level I took minutes for all our meetings and worked closely with the other team members to ensure that we kept the project on schedule.

Work Experience

Huntsman Petrochemicals, Teesside 15/May/06 to 22/Sept/06

During this summer placement I worked on the world scale Naphtha Cracker at Wilton. As a member of the process engineering development group I worked with multidisciplinary teams to make improvements to the Olefins plant. This involved reacting quickly to take on new responsibilities and drive a range of projects to completion within tight deadlines.

One of my tasks was to carry out a pressure survey across the plant bottleneck. This required a great deal of forward planning and flexibility. I studied the P&IDs around the relevant section to identify points where pressure readings could be taken. To carry out this survey I made arrangements with several key personnel to organise scaffolding and sourced a test gauge and specialist fittings. Before taking the survey I had to liaise with the panel operators to control the flowrate through that section of the plant in order to get useful pressure readings. Working 12 hour shifts with the plant operators for a week I was able to collect the required data. As a result of this project I was able to pinpoint sources of excessively high pressure drops. This is the first stage in a de-bottlenecking modification, which will significantly increase the throughput of ethylene. Therefore my work in this area will lead directly to increased plant productivity.

Another major project I worked on involved reviewing the safety of the ignition procedure on two fired heaters, which had been identified as an action in a recent HAZOP study. I investigated the existing procedure and audited the equipment against British standards. After talking my findings through with experts in the field I was able to recommend suitable upgrades. The final stage was to obtain quotations from burner suppliers for the modifications and formally present my project to other engineers across the business.

The key benefits of this project were that I was able to:

• Outline he most economical solution for upgrading the heaters
• Share my findings with other engineers who were working on similar projects at other sites

The above projects required me to adapt quickly to learn how to use new computer programs like Physpack, (Physical property software) Piper (Pipeline modelling software) and Aspen Process Explorer. I was also able to enhance my investigative and communication skills by working closely with other engineers and operators to identify key issues and find workable solutions to complex problems.

Castle Isle Ltd, Summer 2003: Bar Tender

Key Learning: Enhanced public relations awareness, importance of building rapport with customers and other team members

Silvers Marine Ltd, Rosneath Summer 2002: Servicing and Renovating Yachts

Key Learning: Improved practical organisational and communication skills.

Air Training Corps 1997 - 2000

I was a member of the air cadets for three years during which time I progressed to become a Leading Cadet. The air corps helped improve my leadership skills and attention to detail. I also had the opportunity to fly powered aircraft and gliders, while achieving a Duke of Edinburgh award.

Personal Interests

Travel June-September 2004, June-September 2005

Over two summers I have travelled extensively throughout southern Asia, including India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Laos. While travelling independently in these countries I further developed my planning and organisational abilities while constantly improving my communication skills. Travelling alone has also allowed me to interact with and learn from an amazing diversity of people from different backgrounds.

Scuba Diving

I am a member of the university sub-aqua club, and have achieved Advanced Open Water qualification. Diving demands the use of excellent planning, teamwork and communication skills as well as the ability to stay calm and think clearly.

Trekking

I have planned and organised walks in the UK, one trek along the whole West Highland Way climbing two Munros along the route. These treks involved leading and motivating my group to achieve our goals. While travelling I also completed expeditions in South East Asia and the Himalayan foothills, which involved negotiating with guides, moving under extremely variable conditions and communicating with local tribes-people. Completing these treks I developed strong leadership skills and gained a lot of valuable experience in motivating groups of people.