The oft-learned lesson of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure certainly applies to planning and executing turnkey construction jobs in the hydrocarbon processing industry. Baker & O'Brien was engaged to review and assess contractual requirements, plans, estimates, schedules, and responsibilities for cost escalation and completion delays. We provided an expert report and testified at the arbitration.

Basic front end engineering design (FEED) parameters are typically supplied by an owner to an EPC contractor as requirements to build a process plant. A dispute arose when the contractor claimed the as-built product was not representative of the FEED, and the owner believed the differences were the result of normal design development. Baker & O'Brien submitted testimony to an arbitration tribunal based on an analysis of the completeness of FEED and the pertinence of design/scope differences between the as-built plant and FEED.

A dispute between a refinery operator and a construction contractor followed the discovery of oil outside of a diked tank area. Our work included determination of whether each party followed applicable design and construction industry standards and best practices.