PETROLEUM DIRECTORY: PDC Harris excels in Alaska energy and power generation projects

PDC Harris applies strong project management systems to execute on-schedule, under-budget projects for its Alaska clients

Q. Where is your company located? More than one location?

A. In Alaska we have offices in Anchorage and Fairbanks. In the Lower 48 we have eleven offices in nine states. An international office is in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Q. What year was the company founded and what was its original name?

A. The Alaska business was established in 1996-97, and formalized as an Alaska corporation in 2002. The parent companies (PDC Inc. and Harris Group Inc.) were each founded approximately 30 years ago.

Harris Group Inc was formed in Seattle by Robert Harris in 1975, to serve the pulp and paper business sector. Energy-related projects were first executed in the early 1980s, including production and processing facilities in Alaska for Shell, ARCO Alaska, PetroStar and MAPCO.

PDC evolved through the merging of Alaska engineering companies to provide more service areas to our clients and a cohesive team. Predecessor firms were established during the mid-1970s and 1980s. The most recent consolidation took place in 1998 through the merging of FPE Roen Engineers with Loftus Engineering Associates.

Q. Who heads up your company and who is on its senior management team?

A. PDC Harris Group’s Alaska operation in Anchorage is managed by Michael Moora. Jointly the parent companies participate in the executive management committee. Currently Bill Ward, Harris Group’s VP of business development for oil and gas projects, and Steve Theno, president of PDC Inc., serve in this role.

Q. What is the company’s primary business sector? What services does the company offer?

A. Providing full-service engineering services to energy clients in cold regions, we are a joint venture between two established firms — PDC Inc. and Harris Group Inc. — each with over 30 years of experience.

Our clients include upstream and midstream oil and gas producers, processors and refiners; utilities, independent power producers and rural electric associations. In general terms our services include: gathering and process systems, processing and distribution, module design, power generation, owner’s engineering, infrastructure and facilities, and environmental services.

Q. Who are the company’s main clients?

A. BP Exploration (Alaska), Chugach Electric Association, Forest Oil, Flint Hills Resources, Golden Valley Electric Association, Municipality of Anchorage — ML&P, UNOCAL (Chevron), US Army Corps of Engineers, Usibelli Coal/Aurora Energy, and Winstar/Ultrastar.

Q. How many employees does your company have? How many in each of its locations?

A. Like many energy related businesses, our staff levels are increasing. Presently we have approximately 80 employees in Alaska, and 350 Outside.

Q. Does your company have subsidiaries? If so, what services do they provide?

A. Our parent company Harris Group has five business sectors which are the focus of distinct business units. They are: Energy, biorefining, forest industries, industrial manufacturing, and microelectronics.

Harris Group also operates a sixth business unit providing specialty services, addressing customers’ management concerns. The goal is to contribute strategic input to improve technologies and other operational concerns. Here’s a short list of Harris Group’s specialty services:

Financial consulting — working with lenders and developers;

Process development — biomass, ethanol, fuel cells;

Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology — process development;

Architectural programming, preliminary engineering, and detailed design;

Systems integration — control systems and instrumentation.

PDC has tailored its internal organization to directly address the specific requirements of a client’s business. As a result we offer services through in-house teams who specialize in specific industries. This organizational plan means more efficient service delivered by people who know and understand our clients’ industries.

PDC design teams work in transportation (highways, streets, and trails); aviation (airport planning and design); fuels (pipelines, storage, and aircraft hydrant systems); and industrial (permitting, power generation & distribution, and industrial facilities).

Q. Is PDC expanding any of its operations and/or locations?

A. As noted, our business in the energy business sector (oil and gas production, processing and transportation) is undergoing a strong increase in project backlog. We are aggressively recruiting engineers and designers in nearly all the various disciplines to staff new projects. To address growth in the Rocky Mountain energy sector we have opened a project office in Grand Junction, Colo.

Q. What is your company’s main strength, i.e., its edge over the competition?

A. Our primary strength is our project management strength and flexibility. We listen to our customers and tailor a project execution plan to their needs. Our managers customize the project deliverables and level of design detail for each individual project, and minimize reliance upon “doing it the same as last time.”

Q. What new markets, clients and/or projects did your company attract in the last year?

A. PDC Harris Group is currently assisting BP at Milne Point with engineering and procurement services for replacement of an aging electric generator. The challenge involves scheduling the procurement and delivery of a custom-built replacement to coincide with planned TAPS maintenance next year. Fitting the slightly larger generator within the constraints of an ultra compact module is also daunting.

Q. Has the company invested in any new technology in the last two years?

A. The engineering-design business, like other high tech sectors, is constantly challenged to stay current with more powerful and efficient computer software. Software continues to evolve for producing design drawings, predicting process plant performance or for rigorous detailed design functions. Our company must carefully choose where to expend limited budgets for 3D design, intelligent flowsheeting tools, integrated multi-discipline design packages and other technological innovations. We are constantly evaluating the need to invest in newer systems, in order to stay competitive and enhance productivity.

Q. What is the most challenging job PDC has undertaken?

A. Our firm, like our competition, struggles with several aspects of executing complex engineer-procure-construct (EPC) projects where our customer is generally a construction contractor, and not the ultimate owner of the facility being designed. To limit our financial risk, deliver a quality design package, and yet constrain our costs to remain competitive, takes some fine balancing. Fortunately in today’s booming energy market, demand has outstripped the capacity engineering-construction firms, resulting in negotiated project awards, rather than competitively bid EPC work.

Q. What are the biggest obstacles to completing work the company undertakes?

A. Today’s major obstacle is recruitment of talented and experienced designers and engineers. There is a severe shortage of personnel in all the engineering-design disciplines, forcing us to be creative, increase our networking and of course, raise salaries.

Q. What do you see as future trends or opportunities for your company from events such as long-term weather fluctuations, resource development, etc.?

A. Our outlook hinges on the financial health of our customers. No one can predict how long energy prices will remain at their present levels, but as long as they do, engineering-design services remain in a growth mode. A turndown is inevitable, but I’ve no way of knowing when such a trend will happen. There are few more cyclical businesses than this one.

Q. What is the most humorous story from your company’s years in the business in Alaska?

A. We’re not going there…!

Q. Are you hiring for any positions?

A. We are currently recruiting for a mid-level process design engineer in Anchorage. Information on employment is on our Web sites.

Q. Does your company or its partners or subsidiaries maintain Web sites?

A. Yes. www.pdcharrisgroup.com/, www.harrisgroup.com, www.pdceng.com.