Penspen wins the Association for Materials Protection and Performance’s Distinguished Organisation Award

(L-R Brandon Alexander – US Director, Peter O’Sullivan – CEO, Gustavo Romero – LATAM Director)

At the Association for Materials Protection and Performance’s (AMPP) Annual Conference and Expo in Nashville, Tennessee, Penspen, a leading international engineering consultancy, has been awarded the Distinguished Organisation Award in recognition of its 70 years of heritage in delivering global corrosion and engineering solutions. The award recognises an organisation’s efforts to advance the mission and values of the AMPP, including the advancement of technical products and processes, advancement in corrosion science and engineering, advancement in corrosion science education, and advancement of global standardization in the field. 

Penspen were selected as winners of the award for their commitment to advancing solutions that meet the unique challenges posed by both the energy transition, drive progress in a new digital era, and encourage and support the next generation of industry professionals. 

Gustavo Romero, Director – Latin America, commented: “We are very grateful to the AMPP for this recognition, a true celebration of our commitment to advancing the field of corrosion control and asset integrity. 

“As proud members of the association, we have over 25 employees who are members of the AMPP and 15 engineers certified in AMPP programs working across our teams, and look forward to more collaboration in future as we continue to amplify the important work of our industry.” 

Bringing pipeline integrity into the digital era 

As a corporate member of the AMPP for over a decade, Penspen recognises the value of industry collaboration in the advancement of knowledge, technical processes, and education surrounding corrosion science and coatings engineering.   

Advancing digital solutions beyond integrity assessments, Penspen’s digital pipeline integrity tool THEIA is the result of collaboration amongst our global network of corrosion and integrity engineers. THEIA’s game-changing predictive technology uses in-line inspection data to simulate the corrosion growth process, producing accurate corrosion growth rate models for analysis. 

Not only does the tool reduce the time required for data analysis from weeks to seconds, but it enables our clients to have confidence when it comes to integrity management. With clients across the world, THEIA now processes over 15,000km of pipelines globally. 

In addition, THEIA’s collaboration with Senslytics elevates pipeline integrity analysis by exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) can improve decision-making for pipeline operators and ensure the safe and reliable operation of pipelines.

Addressing the skills shortage: supporting the development of the next generation 

As a trusted partner to highly respected educational institutions, Penspen has developed university-level courses spanning pipeline integrity management and corrosion science to address the worldwide need for skilled engineers in these areas. 

In 2005, Penspen launched its first MSc course in partnership with Newcastle University in the UK. With 500 graduates from the course, its success led to the creation of a second MSc program in pipeline integrity management with Northumbria University in 2013, covering the assessment of risk, corrosion, and pipeline damage. Having been previously recognized as a world-class provider of industry training courses, the launch of these MSc programs established Penspen as a leader in master’s level education in pipeline and corrosion engineering. 

More recently Penspen has developed higher education courses in Latin America, with the launch of a pipeline maintenance and inspection diploma in collaboration with the Juárez Autonomous University of Tabasco, Mexico, which was later converted into a two-year master’s program. In 2024, Penspen established a new qualification in partnership with the University of Piura (UDEP) in Peru to draw on a wealth of expertise from our senior industry experts and support the development of Peru’s next generation of corrosion specialists.

Future-proofing knowledge and standards 

Last year, Penspen established a new corrosion laboratory in Peru to advance developments in chemical and microgeological analysis. By using samples from pipelines and analysing parameters relating to corrosion, the laboratory will be a key hub for corrosion identification research and the development of appropriate control methodologies. It’s a major step forward in corrosion science research, powering our efforts to expand and modernise expertise in this area. 

Penspen is also a founding member of the Pipeline Defect Assessment Manual (PDAM), an engineering manual providing definitive guidance on the best practices, procedures, methods, and equations for the assessment of defects. 

Throughout 2024, PDAM was reviewed for further updates, with plans to expand the scope of PDAM further to align better with industry trends towards hydrogen and CO2 pipelines, as well as covering defects in older onshore and offshore pipeline assets. Penspen’s contribution has shaped the industry-recognised guide, which continues to be a cornerstone of any integrity engineer’s toolkit. 

Meeting the challenge 

Harnessing a 70-year heritage to meet the challenge of extending asset life, Penspen is proud to be recognised by the AMPP for our ongoing contribution to the materials protection and performance industry.  

By developing upcoming talent across the world, future-proofing industry standards, and improving the safety and efficiency of energy infrastructure, Penspen’s contribution to the industry is aligned with our wider mission: to continue to improve access to secure and sustainable energy globally.  

Commenting on the award, Peter O’Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer, said: “This award recognises Penspen’s contribution to shaping corrosion engineering and corrosion services globally, supporting energy infrastructure owners to optimise their assets in a safe and sustainable way.  

“We are particularly proud of our exceptional track record in skills development, where we have used our deep technical expertise to both invest in the next generation of corrosion experts, and to drive innovation in the sector by developing services for digitalisation and the energy transition.” 

For media enquiries, please contact: 

• Colene Woolcott, Head of Marketing & Communications, Penspen: c.woolcott@penspen.com