33 Years in Oil & Gas Engineering: Hemal Nanavati’s Career Journey

33 years. Six countries. A career spanning Oil & Gas, offshore platforms, gas processing, petrochemicals, power generation and water desalination.

For Hemal Nanavati, Senior Instrumentation and Control Engineer at Duncan & Ross, every assignment has brought a different environment, challenge and perspective.

His career has taken him across India, the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan, with experience spanning maintenance, project engineering, execution, commissioning, PMC and EPC.

In this edition of People Spotlight, Hemal shares what drew him to Oil & Gas, how multidisciplinary experience has shaped his approach to engineering, and why he believes stepping outside your comfort zone is part of continued growth.

A Career Built Across Oil & Gas Engineering

Hemal began his career after completing a four-year engineering degree in Instrumentation and Control. Over the past 33 years, his experience has expanded across Oil & Gas, offshore platforms, gas processing, petrochemicals, power generation and water desalination.

His career has also exposed him to different stages of project delivery, including maintenance, project engineering, execution, commissioning, PMC and EPC. What inspired you to build a career in Oil & Gas?

“Vastness of the sector, new challenges in every assignment and thrill to work at privileged locations brought me to this sector.”

Every Experience Shapes the Engineer

For Hemal, experience is not simply measured in years or projects. Working across different countries, teams and environments has shaped how he responds to challenges and adapts to unfamiliar situations. What experience has shaped the way you approach your work today, and why?

“Each experience shapes you in its own way. Take every challenge positively that nature is training you to adjust in any environment. Person need to shred his ego, be courageous to accept any unknown difficulty, work as team member as well as leader depending upon situations, never say die approach etc are few of the qualities, which a person has to adopt to succeed in any industry.”

Why Multidisciplinary Engineering Matters

Oil & Gas projects bring together multiple engineering disciplines, each contributing a different perspective to project delivery. Hemal’s experience has included working across process, electrical, mechanical and rotating equipment, as well as both design and PMC environments. How can different disciplines or perspectives come together to create a stronger outcome?

“Working as PMC is different. Working as design engineer is different. Working with Electrical, process, mechanical or rotating machines is different experience in itself. Working with lower level workers and higher management is totally different. Each type of interaction shapes perspective in its own way. Person must be ready to adapt. This is what multi-disciplinary working induces in a person.”

Learning New Ways of Working at Duncan & Ross

Even after decades in engineering, professional development continues as working environments, technology and ways of collaborating evolve. For Hemal, joining Duncan & Ross introduced new digital tools and paperless ways of working alongside his technical engineering experience.

How has your experience at Duncan & Ross influenced the way you approach your work and collaborate with others?

“DR taught me the normal office working environment (MS teams, emails, organizing documentations, portals, and other paperless style of working). I am heartily thankful to DR for this teaching.”

Career Advice for Engineers Entering the Industry

For engineers beginning a career in Oil & Gas, Hemal’s advice centres on staying open to unfamiliar experiences and continuing to learn, even when an assignment takes you beyond what feels comfortable.

What’s one piece of career advice you would share with someone entering the industry?

“Be ready to accept anything out of your comfort zone. Till you are getting paid, and get something new to learn, every hardship is worth.”

Engineering Is Built Through Experience

Hemal’s 33-year career reflects how engineering expertise develops through more than technical knowledge alone. Working across countries, disciplines and project environments has required continuous learning, collaboration and the ability to adapt to change.

From Oil & Gas and offshore projects to PMC and EPC environments, his journey highlights a consistent lesson: every experience brings an opportunity to learn, and every new challenge can shape the way an engineer approaches the next one.