Advisory Board

We are proud to introduce the distinguished members of the Advisory Board for Polymer Engineering for Energy 2026. This group of esteemed industry experts, thought leaders, and key stakeholders will play a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction and high-quality content of this year’s event. Their collective expertise will ensure our conference addresses the most pressing challenges and emerging opportunities for non-metallic materials in the energy sector.

Brent Volk, Principal Engineer – Nonmetallic Materials, ExxonMobil, USA

Brent Volk is the Principal Engineer for Nonmetallic Materials at ExxonMobil. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a PhD in Material Science & Engineering after receiving Bachelors and Masters degrees in Aerospace Engineering.  Brent spent 6 years at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory before joining ExxonMobil in 2018.  During his time with ExxonMobil, Brent has led projects including fitness for service of onshore pipelines, qualification of Thermoplastic Composite Pipe (TCP) & subsea processing technologies, and growth of the Proxxima composite technology team. In his current role, Brent’s focus includes polymers & composites, elastomers & seals, and coatings & linings.

Claudio Jarreta Neto, Senior Non‑Metallics Expert, Petrobras, Brazil

Cláudio is a Materials Engineer from the Federal University of São Carlos, with a Master’s in Inspection Engineering. He has over 20 years of experience at GE Plastics, BHP, and Petrobras.

As a Senior Non‑Metallics Expert, he specializes in specification, fabrication, installation, and inspection of polymer and composite piping, pipelines, structures and equipment.

Kristian Haraldsen, Leading Advisor, Polymers and Surface Protection, Equinor, Norway

Kristian is a Leading Advisor in polymer materials, insulation, and surface protection at Equinor, with over 25 years of experience in materials technology across the energy sector. He holds an MSc in Industrial Chemistry (polymer materials) from NTNU and has led major materials and construction roles on global projects in Norway, Singapore, and South Korea. His expertise spans polymer technology, subsea insulation, corrosion protection, and material integrity for offshore applications.

Denis Melot, Expert Non-Metallic Materials & Coatings, TotalEnergies, France

Denis Melot has a background in polymer science, with a PhD and Post-doc in this field, followed by 11 years of R&D and product development in the polymer industry.

In 2003 he joined Total Upstream division, in the corrosion department, to act as non-metallic materials specialist, dealing with composites/coatings/insulation and all polymer-related issues within Total upstream. Since 2020 he has been in charge of non-metallic materials and composite pipes in the Pipeline and Riser Department, ONETECH division in TotalEnergies. His area of expertise ranges from writing company specifications to support to subsidiaries as well as R&D actions in polymers. He also serves as Chairman of the ISO12736 Working Group on wet thermal insulation systems.

Abderrazak Traidia, Technology Consultant (Non-Metallics), Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia

Abderrazak is a Technology Consultant in materials integrity at Aramco Research & Development Center (KSA). He has over 15 years of industrial R&D experience in environmental ageing of materials and asset integrity with particular focus on corrosion, hydrogen-induced degradation of materials and environmental ageing of polymers and composites. He served in multiple roles at Aramco (technical and leadership) and has actively contributed to establishing and leading multiple R&D initiatives such as the Non-metallic Innovation Centre NIC with TWI (board member and technical support officer) and more recently ENERCOMP with KAUST. Abderrazak holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique (France). He co-authored over 20 peer-reviewed publications and 35 conference proceedings. He is also co-inventor of 30 Saudi Aramco granted patents. Abderrazak is representing Saudi Aramco in multiple technical committees (JIPs and Standards).

Enzo Savino, Principal Engineer, Non-Metallics, ConocoPhillips, USA

Enzo Savino has 35 years of experience in polymer and composite-based products, coatings, insulation materials, and polymer-based additive manufacturing in the energy sector, including 13 years at ConocoPhillips. He is involved in industry technical committees such as API, AMPP, ISO, and IOGP, and has chaired the API 20T committee on polymer-based additive manufacturing. Additionally, he led the PRCI project on sealing materials for hydrogen and chairs the IOGP Coating Standard Sub-Committee, contributing to the development of IOGP S-715 Coating Specification and S-738 Insulation materials.

Mohammed Al Kindi, Senior Materials & Corrosion Engineer, Petroleum Development Oman, Oman

Mohammed is a Senior Materials & Corrosion Engineer at Petroleum Development Oman, specialising in material selection and establishing corrosion management strategies across the oil and gas upstream business — from subsurface wells to surface processing facilities. Over various roles in operations and projects, he has supported conventional developments, critical sour service and CCUS projects, contributing to technology adoption, value-driven material decisions, non-metallic applications and failure investigations. Mohammed holds a PhD in Corrosion and Protection from the University of Manchester, with a research focus on CO₂ corrosion.

Jay Yun, Project Manager- Nonmetallics, SETC Advisor, Enabling Technology Development, SLB, USA

Jay Yun is currently a Project Manager for Non-Metallics and a Technical Advisor within Enabling Technology Development at SLB. He began his career working in automotive plastics and rubber/elastomers and holds a Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Akron. Since joining SLB in 2006, Jay has contributed extensively to wireline cable development and manufacturing processes, as well as a wide range of non‑metallic technology initiatives and knowledge-building activities. His responsibilities also include global new‑technology scouting and providing expert technical services. Jay’s technical accomplishments include 28 granted patents, 20 U.S. patent applications, and 27 peer‑reviewed publications.

Nikolaos Koutras, Team Lead, Materials and Process Engineering, Strohm, The Netherlands

Nikos Koutras joined Strohm in 2018 and is currently leading the Team of Materials and Process Engineering. 

His team is responsible for the qualification of TCP materials following industry standards, the evaluation of chemical compatibility of TCP materials across different applications and the development of CF-PVDF TCP manufacturing process. 

His expertise is in polymers and fibre reinforced polymers characterisation, as well as in thermoplastic composites processing. He has a background in Applied Physics and holds a PhD in Thermoplastic Composites Welding from Delft University of Technology.