Our People – Nick

Nick is a Senior Pipeline Integrity Engineer at Penspen. Since joining the team in November 2024 and relocating from Canada to Abu Dhabi, he’s been an integral part of Penspen’s Centre of Engineering Excellence, delivering complex projects for clients across the globe in asset integrity and hydrogen repurposing. 

In this Our People feature, Nick shares how his experience working for a pipeline operator gives him a unique perspective on projects today, and what a big move across the world with his family has taught him about taking opportunities while you can. 

As a child, I was always fascinated by Lego, machines and anything that moved, really. Everything from building a go kart to constructing snowboard jumps – an essential for Canadian winters!  

Engineering always felt like a natural career path in my family. Both my sibling and my dad work in engineering, and I have another sibling working in the sciences.  

Getting started 

The energy industry wasn’t initially on my radar, but after leaving education, my first job was in pipeline engineering design in Western Canada. That role opened my eyes to the scale of the energy industry, which was exciting – bigger and more complex than I could have ever imagined.  

I then spent over a decade with a major North American pipeline operator, starting out as an entry-level pipeline engineer and working my way up through different areas of the company. I spent time in operations for its gas distribution business and later managed a team of integrity engineers. That last role was fun and interesting – we were tasked with developing threat management programs for hazards that we knew were active, but up until this point were not part of our typical integrity management program. It was like starting with a clean slate, having a chance to really think differently and challenge convention. 

After 12 years there, I was ready for a change. I always had a passion for very technical work and wanted more opportunities to dive deeper into that arena. I joined Penspen in November 2024 and quickly found myself back on a steep learning curve. My first project was in the complicated world of repurposing gas pipelines for hydrogen – a key aspect of the energy transition and a project that definitely fulfilled that desire to get back into technical work. 

Finding a passion 

Early in my career in pipeline integrity, I took a training course on defect assessment delivered by Penspen. Little did I know that would be the start of a much longer journey. 

When I later found myself watching YouTube videos late into the night on fracture mechanics principles and in-line inspection tools, I realised I had a budding passion and was investing my own time in something I really enjoyed.  

It was also exciting to get into the field, see projects go from conception to reality, and trade knowledge back and forth with people in operations and construction who had vastly different roles to mine, yet we were all working towards the same objectives. 

I’ve brought with me a lot of practical experience working with an operator for so many years and have had to wrestle with many of the same issues and pressures that our clients face on a day-to-day basis. I really try to understand their perspectives, challenges and priorities so that I can make sure our recommendations align with their interests. This helps to build trust and demonstrate that we’re committed to solving a problem together, which goes a long way. 

Although I’m in a very technical role, the most important part of it is actually communication. Pipeline integrity involves complex technologies, calculations, and critical decisions about safety. Being able to put all these different inputs into actionable takeaways for our clients is essential. 

I get a lot of satisfaction in educating and training people – something I never expected to enjoy as much as I do. It’s one of the most rewarding parts of my role. I had great mentors that taught me the right way to work: accepting when you’re wrong, owning a mistake, and being comfortable enough to say you need help or don’t know the answer. I try to pass that on to my peers, whether through training courses or everyday conversations. Seeing working cultures align with those principles and culminating in sound decision-making is incredibly rewarding.  

In recent years, what I’ve been most proud of is seeing people who I have trained or worked on a team with get well-deserved promotions or have their achievements recognised. That’s always fulfilling for me, knowing we did great work together. 

A changing landscape 

There’s a really interesting balance in the Middle East right now, and it’s one that is unique compared to most parts of the world. There’s still a lot of conventional oil and gas development happening, which is a reflection of the level of global demand, especially in emerging markets. Those new and existing networks still need to be built and maintained to offer secure supply, but there are certainly opportunities to decarbonise the various energy processes. At the same time, a lot of large projects are aimed at diversifying energy sources and creating new revenue streams through clean energy exports like hydrogen or ammonia. 

As technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), automation and machine learning get thrown into the mix there is a wave of optimisation and innovation happening. These are not just buzzwords anymore – we’re seeing real, tangible benefits. For example, machine learning is being used to predict corrosion growth more accurately, which helps optimise inspection intervals, and AI is being applied to fine-tune gas well production. These kinds of advances allow operators to optimise the bottom line, while also giving consultants new ways to add value.  The energy transition is capital intensive, so operators really need to run efficiently, and these advanced computing technologies can enable that.