Mark Smithdorf

Mark’s career spans over three decades and almost every oil producing country both onshore and offshore. At HOCS we say that he has bitumen flowing through his veins.

Since 1981, Mark has worked on surface facility designs for the upstream processing of conventional and heavy oil, bitumen, natural gas, produced water and sand.

With a primary focus on the resolution of emulsions and processing of oil / water / gas / sand, Mark has been exposed to complete upstream process designs.

Mark’s primary contribution to HOCS Projects is in the role of a Principal, where he shares his 35 years of hands-on experience in both managerial and technical roles to ensure that HOCS delivers on its promise of do it right, do it once, do it together and realizes its vision of becoming the benchmark in engineering and project execution excellence.

Mario Potapczuk, P. Eng.

Mario has 15 years of experience covering manufacturing, aerospace, and petrochemical industries in various roles including design/drafting technologist, mechanical engineer, project engineer, technical services manager, and construction and project manager. Mario’s experience includes EPC, construction, and oil and gas producer firms. 

We appreciate that Mario is driving our continuous improvement by combining a practical approach with novel, innovative thinking to elevate EPC service experience to new, benchmark levels.

As Vice President of Projects, Mario’s priority is to ensure that we stay focused on our vision of being the benchmark in engineering and project execution excellence. A “win-win” solution for Mario means, “that by helping our clients become successful we, as HOCS, and as individuals, become successful as well.”

Adrian Otteson

As the youngest member of our Leadership Team, Adrian has over 10 years of experience in design, procurement and construction of oil and gas projects ranging in size from small to mega. Adrian’s experience includes various roles in project coordination, process piping design and plant layout including leadership roles, pressure vessel design, material control, shop coordination, and field coordination on a variety of domestic and overseas projects both at the EPC firms and process equipment vendors.

As a Piping Department Head, Adrian’s priority is to ensure that our fastest growing department remains focused on quality and excellence while implanting innovative approaches to 3D model management techniques with emphasis on multi-discipline coordination.

Ken Wong, RET

Ken has over three decades of experience in the petroleum, chemical, mining, and heavy industries, including involvement with infrastructure-based, environmental and commercial engineering fields. He has been closely involved with projects from the inception/retrofit stage to the construction completion of civil, building and structural works, the scope of which ranges from warehouse to megaprojects.

Whether on the construction site or at the office, Ken is passionate about resolving engineering challenges with creative and cost-effective solutions. His portfolio includes contributions to the successful implementation of many megaproject 3D plant design systems and its integration with other industry standard engineering applications. Ken is a master of virtual reality, enabling us to take 3D-model management to a new, industry benchmark level. As Head of the Civil, Structural and Architectural Department, Ken is committed to leading his team through the application of proven diverse expertise to obtain viable engineering solutions. “Our team environment is both engaging and challenging as we strive towards the common goal to exceed client expectations by providing fit-for-purpose solutions.”

Roger Lafont, P. Eng.

Roger has over 25 years of experience in the petroleum, petrochemical, power generation, and pulp and paper industries. This includes extensive site experience during construction, commissioning, start-up and ongoing plant operations.

Roger has been involved in projects ranging in size from a single-well battery to world class megaprojects. His on-site experience at operating facilities enables him to see the design though the eyes of the end user with a view towards long-term operability and maintainability. Roger brings to HOCS technical depth combined with a lot of wisdom and compassion, which enables us to create and maintain a people and result-focused culture.

As the Head of the Instrument, Electrical and Controls Department at HOCS Projects, Roger intends to use his construction and operations experience to lead his team to provide cost-effective, and reliable systems to our clients.  “Win-win for me means that our clients feel that we have exceeded their expectations, while our staff feel engaged and challenged, and we are viewed by industry as the benchmark in engineering and project execution excellence.”

Murthy Nadella, P. Eng.

Murthy is a Chemical Engineer with 32 years of experience spanning grass roots design and revamp of facilities for oil and gas treatment plants, upgraders and refineries, operation and troubleshooting of ammonia and methanol plants, utilities and off-sites.

His areas of expertise include conceptual studies, basic and detailed engineering of heavy oil, CSS and SAGD facilities and debottlenecking studies. He is also experienced in the process design of natural gas treatment and liquids recovery units. He is the newest member of HOCS Projects Leadership Team.

Murthy has a Master’s Degree in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering and an MBA from the University of Calgary, in addition to an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from India. He is a professional engineer registered in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

As the Process Department Head, Murthy’s priority is to develop HOCS capabilities in process engineering and provide efficient engineering services to clients in the oil and gas industry.