Houston Conference 2026

Dr Nimi Abili PhD, MBA, CEng, CMarEng, FIMarEST

Chairman, IMarEST Houston (US Gulf Coast) Branch, IMarEST

Dr. Abili is accomplished commercially and globally experienced Technology Development Leader with 25 years in delivering optimal outcomes in Capital Projects, Subsea Development, Digital Engineering, Smart Factory, Automation, New Energies, Oil & Gas, and delivery of intelligent operations in the energy verticals, including with Shell, Eni, ExxonMobil, SLB, Capgemini Engineering, Greater Offshore, and Management Consulting as Chief Technology Adviser. He holds a PhD in Energy & Power (Subsea), and MSc in Subsea Engineering from Cranfield University, England; an MBA in Oil and Gas from Middlesex University London, England; and a BEng in Electronic & Electrical Engineering (Hons) from the University of Sunderland, England. Dr. Abili is the Executive Chairman of the IMarEST Houston (US Gulf Coast) Branch and a Board of Trustee in the IMarEST UK

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Dr Paul Jukes PhD CEng CMarEng FIMarEST

Technical Manager – Pipelines & Flowlines, 2H

Obtained a Honours Degree in Mechanical and Structural Engineering (BEng Hons), a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and a Doctorate in Structural Engineering (PhD). Over 28 years of experience in the Oil & Gas industry. Previously the Group Managing Director for MCS Kenny, a Division of wood (formerly Wood Group). Currently the Flowline and Pipeline SME for 2H Offshore Inc., in Houston.

Joined the IMarEST as a Graduate Member in 1998, Member and a Chartered Engineer in 1999, and became a Fellow in 2005. Honorary Secretary for the South East England Branch (SEE) of IMarEST (1999-2005) and Chairman for the ‘IMarEST Young Members Network’ (2005). Past Regional Co-ordinator for the Young Marine Professional (YMP) (1999-2002), and judge for the SET Awards (2003-2005). Previously Chairman of the Houston Gulf Coast Branch (2006 – 2012). Council Member (2010-2013). Board of Trustees (2007-2012). Obtained President’ Commendation Award in 2006.nCoauthor of the ‘Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering’ jointly with Carlton, J., and Sang Y, Wiley Books, March 2018.

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Rajnish Kelkar CEng, FIMarEST

Vice Chair, IMarEST Houston (US Gulf Coast) Branch

Rajnish is a Houston, TX-based Maritime executive with experience in management, operations, assurance, and safety within the Oil, Gas, Energy, and Maritime industries. He leads Environmental, Energy, and Regulatory Programs at Excelerate Energy, focusing on FSRU terminal development, environmental and regulatory compliance. Previously, he was Marine Projects Manager for the Jordan Cove LNG terminal, managing marine interfaces and budgets.

After completing Marine Engineering training at Indian Maritime University, Rajnish served on tankers with Chevron Shipping and later joined Teekay Shipping Ltd., where he became Chief Engineer. Until 2009, he held management roles at Teekay Vancouver, overseeing Fleet Performance Management, Risk, Reliability and Safety programs for around 150 vessels.

From 2009 to 2016, he was Director of Maritime HSSE at BG Group in Houston, providing leadership for maritime operations across 10 locations and about 150 assets, including LNG Carriers and offshore vessels.

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Wayne Chen PE

Digital Fleet Manager for Guyana Digital Alliance (GDA), MODEC

Wayne Chen is the Digital Fleet Manager for Guyana Digital Alliance (GDA) at MODEC. In this role, he oversees the client’s digital portfolio across the Guyana FPSO assets. He manages the digital product lifecycle, including development and acquisition, stage-gate reviews, scaled deployment, maintenance, and sustainment.

Wayne has more than 12 years of experience in the offshore upstream sector carrying out subsea structure design, project management, and digital product R&D. His career has progressed through various technical and management roles, including structural engineer,
engineering lead, and project manager.

Wayne holds a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a doctorate in structural engineering from Pennsylvania State University. He is a licensed professional engineer registered with Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS).

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Cinnamon Edralin

Americas Research Director, Westwood Global Energy

Cinnamon is America's Research Director for RigLogix at Westwood Global Energy and has been covering the offshore rig market since 2006. She began her career with ODS-Petrodata, which was acquired by IHS (later becoming IHS Markit), where she managed the Americas offshore rig team, along with the Americas marine team and the US/Canada land rig team. Cinnamon then moved to Esgian, where she helped raise brand awareness for offshore rig services, along with supporting offshore wind. She joined Westwood in 2023 and provides support for the subsea team in addition to her rig analyst duties. In 2026, she joined the Editorial Advisory Board for Offshore magazine. Cinnamon holds a BA in Liberal Arts from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas.

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Jan Hagen Andersen P.E.

Business Development Director, Regional Director for Maritime Decarbonization, DNV Maritime

Jan Hagen Andersen has over 30 years of experience in the maritime industry with a broad technical knowledge and business development understanding. After graduating from engineering college in Norway, he completed a Bachelor and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. He then joined Trans Marine Propulsion Systems, Inc. in 1991, a marine engineering and service company in Seattle with a focus on marine propulsion and ship machinery systems.

In 2005, he joined DNV in Norway in the Machinery Section of Maritime Technical Advisory. The advisory group in DNV provides consultancy and non-class support services to ship owners, shipyards, manufacturers, designers, and other stakeholders. In 2010 he moved to DNV Maritime in Houston, Texas and is currently in Business Development and the Regional Director for Maritime Decarbonization.

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Sri Kodali

AI & Energy Strategic Partnership Executive, NVIDA

No bio provided

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Dr Bulent Mercan PhD, PE

Technical Advisor, 2H Offshore

Bulent Mercan currently serves as a technical advisor for 2H Offshore in Houston. He has more than ten years of industry experience in the analysis, design, and integrity monitoring of structural systems for offshore oil, gas and renewable assets. His responsibilities include project management, technical sales, and technology development. He holds a PhD in Civil/Structural Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a Professional Engineer Licence in Texas.

Bulent also serves as a part-time senior lecturer at the University of Houston. He has more than eight years of teaching experience at the UH. He teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in the Civil Engineering Department.

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Dr Alberto Morandi

Vice-President of Technology & Research, SNAME

Dr. Alberto Morandi is a Naval Architect with 40 years of experience in the maritime and offshore industries, developing solutions for Oil & Gas, Renewables, Construction, Carbon Capture, and Platform Re-use. He serves as SNAME Vice-President of Technology & Research, liaising with maritime nuclear groups such as MNAG and the ANS Maritime Task Force. He is a PE in the State of Texas and a Chartered Engineer in the UK as well as an expert witness to the Federal Courts of Texas and Louisiana and to the US Arbitration Association. Over 60 published papers and articles as well as speaking in conferences and industry panels, receiving an OTC best paper in 2022.

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Dr Prabu Parthasarathy

Global VP - Strategic Projects, Cognite

As the Global VP - Strategic Projects at Cognite, I help combine domain expertise and digital technology to help clients across upstream and midstream industries harness the power of data and AI to optimize their operations, reduce emissions, and enhance safety. With over 20years of international experience in the Oil and Gas sector, I have a deep understanding of the technical and business challenges that our clients face, and how to deliver value by combining domain knowledge with digital technologies. Before joining Cognite, I was the VP of Intelligent Operations at Wood Group, where I oversaw a global business line that provided advanced technology solutions to the process industry.

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Claudene Sharp-Patel CMarTech FIMarEST

Global Technical Director, Marine and Offshore, Lloyds Register

Claudene joined the marine industry over 30 years ago, having wide experience in maritime, shipping, salvage/MCI, upstream oil and Gas, and wind installation/MWS, Terminal operations, assurance and Oil and Gas/renewable industries in various roles and senior management positions. Claudene started her career as a sea-going Marine Engineering with BHP on dry-bulk carriers, ROROs, Container Vessels and Chemical tankers, transferring onto Oil and LNG vessels with Shell UK and primarily with BP Shipping. However, never one to stop during leave periods continued building experience on General cargo vessels and passenger ships.  Although holding a Bachelor of Technology (Marine Engineering) and Combined Chief Engineer (Motor and Steam), Claudene continued studying obtaining an MBA in Maritime Law and Logistics Management. 

Although Claudene’s background is technical, her training in her shore career in Shipping companies and energy companies support the understanding of shipping, terminal operations/activities and marine activities, has assisted seeing these operations holistically and impactfully.  Claudene’s more recent roles as Global Technical Director Lloyd’s Register, and Shell Australia Prelude (Prelude Marine Terminal Coordinator) further adds to her understanding of current Marine and Offshore roles, activities and operations.  Claudene’s current role as Global Technical Director for Lloyds Register allows an input in the strategy and technical requirements for the industry both legislated or required through IMO/IACS and supporting customers and the industry find safe technical solutions within Decarbonisation, Digitalisation, Marine safety assurance and Offshore Safety Assurance.

Claudene was previously a registered consultant to IMO, and has been continuously active within OCIMF in several groups/working groups including Representative at GPC, Vice Chairman of OCIMF Technical Group, and member of SIRE Focus Group.  These experiences bringing a wide understanding of incidents, consequences, legislation, regulations and implementation. Claudene is a Fellow of IMarEST and served for 6 years as Vice President and culminating as Vice Chair of Technical Leadership Board of IMarEST and is currently the President Elect IMarEST

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Dr Ram Shenoy

CEO, RBR Group

Ram Shenoy has 24 years experience in upstream oil & gas, holding a variety of roles around technology development, management and marketing. He spent 20 years with Schlumberger, starting as a research scientist, and completed a series of assignments of increasing responsibility, culminating in his last position with Schlumberger as Vice-President of Research, managing Schlumberger global corporate research laboratories.

He subsequently became Chief Technology Officer of ConocoPhillips, a position he held for 4 years. He currently advises venture capital and private equity companies on matters of technology strategy and due diligence in the energy sector. He also serves on a number of advisory boards, most notably the US Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, and the Project Production Institute.

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Peter Wallace PE, CEng, CMarEng, FIMarEST

Principal Engineer, Lloyds Register

Peter Wallace, PE, CEng, CMarEng is Principal Engineer in the Maritime Performance Services--Applied Technology Group of Lloyd’s Register, based in Houston Texas. He is a practicing naval architect working in the technology development, risk, and regulatory spaces in maritime and offshore in such topics as decarbonization, dynamic positioning, and structural digital twins. Peter holds a BSc in naval architecture and marine engineering from Webb Institute of Naval Architecture and an MBA from Tulane University. Peter is a Member of Corporation at Woods Hole Oceanographic.

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