Education
  • University of Texas at Austin
    B.S. Mechanical Engineering (1992)
Areas of expertise
  • Standard of Care
  • Project Feasibility
  • Accident / Incident Investigation
  • Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC)
  • Insurance Claims
  • Pipeline
  • Arbitration
  • Expert Witness Testimony
  • Operations and Maintenance
  • OSHA-related
  • Forensic Analysis
  • Physical Asset Appraisal
  • Gasification
Industries
  • Natural Gas and NGLs
  • Petroleum Refining
  • Transportation and Storage
  • LNG

Summary of Experience

Mr. Hirst has over 30 years of experience in international project management, refinery/plant engineering, construction management, cost control, and contract administration. He has conducted refinery incident investigations, participated in HAZOP studies, and provided engineering support for rotating equipment, columns, piping, tankage, and pressure vessels.

Charlie began his career with Caltex Petroleum Corporation/Chevron Corporation, where he provided technical and project management support to worldwide affiliates. His main projects included the engineering and construction of a refinery in Thailand and a lube oil blending plant project in China. Following the successful start-up of that plant, he was assigned to the 260,000 barrels per day Bahrain Petroleum Refinery, where he worked in all areas of plant engineering.

Since joining Baker & O’Brien in 2007, Charlie has advised clients on a wide range of issues, including international megaproject disputes, insurance claims, project monitoring, and industry accidents. He has provided consulting services on a wide range of facilities, including refineries, power plants, LNG plants, pipelines, and offshore facilities. Charlie is fluent in Spanish.

Previous Experience

2006-2007: Chevron Corp.,
Superintendent Plant Engineering, Bahrain Refinery

2003-2006: Chevron Corp.,
Senior Engineer, Bahrain Refinery

1999-2003: Caltex Petroleum Corp.,
Facility & Project Engineer, Bahrain Refinery

1997-1999: Caltex Petroleum Corp.,
Engineering, Construction & Commissioning Manager
Lube Oil Blending Project, China

1996-1997: Caltex Petroleum Corp.,
Marketing Project Engineer

1993-1996: Caltex Petroleum Corp.,
Cost & Project Engineer, Star Petroleum Refinery Project

1992-1993: Caltex Petroleum Corp.,
Associate Engineer, Head Office