Robert Cunningham
VP Practice Director Energy
EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS
South Dakota School of
Mines & Technology
Bachelor of Science, Chemical
Engineering
University of Texas
at Austin
Masters of Business
Administration
BIOGRAPHY
Robert Cunningham is a chemical engineer with over 20 years of operations and construction experience in the refinery, petrochemical, and production industries with a strong focus on maintenance, turnaround, and major brownfield projects.
Robert provides expertise in the repair and rebuilding of plants and refinery units following fire and explosion events along with a deep understanding of the procedures around meeting DOJ and EPA requirements. Robert currently consults on insurance claims in the energy industry, both upstream and downstream, providing his expertise to adjusters, insurance carriers and their legal counsel to aid in the comprehension of claimed damages and repairs. Additionally, he provides expert witness work in relation to rebuilds, construction and commissioning phases of energy related projects.
REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS (CLAIMS)
| Description | Type | Claimed Value |
|---|---|---|
| Midwest Refinery FCCU, Crude – Fire | PD + BI | $938M |
| Gulf Coast LNG Facility – Hurricane | DSU | $190M |
| Louisiana Refinery – Hurricane | PD | $120M |
| Midwest Explosives Mfg – Explosion | PD + BI | $85M |
| Western Refinery Crude – Fire | PD | $39M |
| Louisiana Plastics Plant – Explosion / Fire | CAR (PR) | $38M |
| Louisiana Plastics Plant – Hurricane | PD | $80M |
| Texas Drilling Fluids Plant – Fire | PD + BI | $40M |
| Gulf Coast LNG Facility – Pipe Coatings | PD | $31M |
| Texas Refinery FCCU – Fire | PD | $37M |
| Expert Witness LA Ethylene Cracker – Fire | BI | $19M |
| Southern Refinery, Penex ISOM – Fire | PD + BI | $40M |
| Midwest Caustic Plant – Storm | DSU | $25M |
| Gulf Coast Herbicides Plant – Freeze | PD + BI | $22M |
*Dispute Resolution & Commercial Litigation Experience Available Upon Request
EXPERTISE
- Full discipline engineering services for property damage, business interruption, and delay in startup insurance claims.
- Cost and time element aspects of insurance claims in the Energy/Petrochem, Renewables and related Construction industries.
- Led engineering team on large scale project losses ($50M+) to evaluate the extent of property damage, develop a repair estimate, and monitor the cost to repair on behalf of Insurers.
- Expert witness for commissioning petrochemical facilities with a focus on the work scope and schedule duration to commission a plant.
- Analyze greenfield scope execution starting in construction through mechanical completion, system handover, and commissioning & startup to determine critical path and identify causation of any delays.
