CPS-4-3  Small Scale Waste Heat Recovery (read more) (member link) (GMRC website)

CPS-2-2 Lean-head End Liner NOx Retrofit for GE Frame 3 and Frame 5 Turbines (read more) (member link)
DP-2-1 Guidelines for Preventing Underground Facility Damage as a Result of Horizontal Directional Drilling (read more) (member link)

MEAS-12-1 Gas Sampling at Hydrocarbon Dew Point Conditions (read more) (member link)

Cliff Johnson, CAE, President

I am pleased to announce that Mike Whelan has been promoted to the Director of Research Operations. He will be responsible for the overall operations of the pipeline and facilities research programs. Mike has over 20 years of experience in the oil & gas research industry and he has spent the last nine years with PRCI as the Director of the Facilities program. He will also be the staff lead for the Long-term Research Committee (LTRC). Over the next few months he will wear a couple of hats as lead on the Facilities Technical Committees and assuming his new position.

Max Toch has accepted the position of Sr. Research Manager for Pipeline Design, Materials, & Construction. This will build on Max's expertise in this area and enable him to support Mike in his new role.

As many of you already know, Ken Lorang retired from PRCI effective June 30th. He has been a great asset to PRCI and a vital contributor over the last five years. Ken has agreed to continue to lead two projects until their completion in the next few months - ABD-1 and MATH-1. During his time at PRCI he has led a number of key projects, including our research efforts on ethanol transportation, stress corrosion cracking, and the establishment of the Pipeline Inventory Control System (PICS) reporting system. I would like thank Ken for all of his hard work and dedication! He will be missed. Please join me in wishing him well in his future endeavors.

Another key change for PRCI will be the stepping back of Eric Thomas. He has decided to complete his contract that runs through the end of 2011 and move into a part-time controller role beginning in January 2012. Eric has been a key part of PRCI for over 25 years as a member of the Technical Committees, Technical Committee Chair, Board member, Executive Committee member, PRCI Chair, and finally as PRCI COO/CFO

Click Image for PRCI Staff Organizational Chart

. He has been a key player in shaping the future of PRCI. He has also been a great resource for me during my transition over the last year. Eric, I thank you for your many contributions to PRCI!

Mike will lead the team of Mark Piazza, Sr. Program Manager of Pipeline Operations & Integrity; Hans Deeb, Program Manager for Pipeline Corrosion; Max Toch, Sr. Research Manager for Pipeline Design, Materials, & Construction; and a new Research Manager, for which recruitment efforts are currently underway, with the addition of a Facilities Program Manager planned for 2012.

The 18th Biennial Joint Technical Meeting (JTM) on Pipeline Research was held on May 16 - 20, 2011 in San Francisco, California. The meeting was hosted by Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI), and proved once more that the JTM represents a world-class forum for pipeline research excellence and addresses the challenges confronting the pipeline industry at a global level. This meeting reflects one of the most significant collaborations in pipeline research formed by the tripartite partnership of PRCI, the European Pipeline Research Group (EPRG), and the Research and Standards Committee of the Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA-RSC) who together have members operating on five continents. (read full story)