Innovative thinkers
Growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, Brian Skeels had the genetic makeup of an engineer from the start. His father was a chemical engineer, and his grandfathers were civil and mining engineers. “My parents tell me that from as early as age two, when I was asked what I wanted to be when I grow up, my answer was always, ‘I want to be scientific.’ I’m not sure what that means, but I think I got close,” Skeels said with a laugh.
He continued, “My dad taught me how to fix things. I was always very inquisitive, and I was always taking things apart.” Today, as engineering fellow and emerging technology director at FMC Technologies, Skeels brings that ageless curiosity and admiration for science to his role every day.
After earning a BS degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University, Skeels took a trip to the New England coast, where he was struck by the sight of the Atlantic Ocean. “I remember seeing the ocean for the first time, and thinking that this is where I want to be,” said Skeels. Consequently, he went on to earn an MS degree in ocean engineering from the University of Rhode Island.
Skeels officially began his career as senior research engineer at Exxon Mobil, where he served as design engineer for deepwater, diverless, flowline connection equipment projects and shallow-water subsea completions. Additionally, he developed an improved position reference control system for a remote subsea guidance package, and served as assistant project engineer for the abandonment and removal of the original prototype SPS template in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
He was later hired by FMC Technologies as senior project engineer. He developed the first deepwater guidelineless (GLL) completion system for Petrobras’ Marlim field, offshore Brazil.
After Skeels was named subsea engineering specialist, he continued to work closely with subsea production systems. As senior project engineer and technical consultant for Exxon Mobil’s Diana project in the late 1990s, Skeels was responsible for all tree and control system designs, as well as interfaces, for the Gulf of Mexico’s first GLL horizontal tree in water depths up to 5,000 ft.
Moreover, he served as project manager and technical consultant for Oryx Energy’s Neptune SPAR project, which completed in 1997. It was at this time that Skeels co-developed a 6,000-psi, diverless, hydraulically-operated, internal tieback connector for the world’s first SPAR production platform.
Skeels also served as technical director for all of BP’s Gulf of Mexico deepwater projects, including Thunder Horse (2000–2007) and Atlantis (2002–2007). Since 1984, Skeels has played an integral role in growing and publishing API industry standards for subsea production hardware, chairing three task groups and serving on nine more within Subcommittee 17.
In addition to his role as technical advisor and engineering and projects director for FTO Services—a JV company between FMC Technologies and Edison Chouest Offshore—Skeels serves as an advisor for developing HPHT technology and chairs API’s task group; technical advisor for development of new ROV technology; engineering technical specialist for subsea projects; engineering manager for deepwater acid stimulation well intervention systems, and riserless light well intervention systems, wireline and coiled tubing mechanical access to subsea wells; as well as American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) fellow and FMC Technologies fellow.
Skeels also is an adjunct professor at the University of Houston’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. Skeels says, “Something that I always teach my students is that we have to consider everything, and that’s what keeps things really interesting. We’ve always got to be ready to improvise. Also, I urge them to look at things not only mechanically, but also economically. What is going to be more low-cost in the long run?” 
