Ashok Shastri is Senior Technologist and Shell’s subject matter expert in Polyethylene Technology. Over the course of his career spanning around three decades, he has made a significant impact in the arena of Polyolefins technology, industry, and business. With his sound technical expertise and passion for Polyolefins Technology, Ashok played a pivotal role in enabling the strategic re-entry of Shell Chemicals into the Polyethylene business. His contribution to the growth aspirations of Shell chemicals in the polymer business and to the wider Polyethylene industry at large is the premise that merits his nomination as a credible contender for the 2023 SASE Technical/Research/Business Achievement award.

Ashok started his career in Polyolefins at Reliance Industries where he was Process engineer for start-up of three trains of Gas Phase Polyethylene Reactors during 1997-2001. Shell was embarking on a journey of diversification and growth in the Downstream Chemicals sector with proposed capital investments in the area of polymers. This strategic aspiration called for deep technical expertise in Polyethylene Technology. Ashok came onboard the Shell business opportunity team in 2008 and was instrumental in devising the technical strategy and evaluating options for Shell`s re-entry into the Polyethylene market. Ashok was at the core of establishing Shell`s Centre of Expertise (CoE) in Polyolefins that became a cornerstone in materializing the business proposition towards expanding Shell`s product portfolio. He was awarded a Special Recognition Award by the leadership of Shell`s Downstream Chemicals business in recognition of his stellar contributions he made in developing strategy to expand Shell Chemical portfolio that culminated in valuable inputs to Shell Growth projects in Polyethylene.

Through these efforts, Shell zeroed in on an opportunity to establish Polyethylene manufacturing presence with a proposed multibillion-dollar investment in the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Ashok was the designated as the Lead Process Engineer supporting this development. Commencing in 2010, Ashok has been a corner stone of the business opportunity team where he has been integrally involved through all phases of the project development and delivery from concept through to the start-up of this mega project in 2022. The journey lasting over a decade has witnessed his relentless efforts in the development of the premise, demonstration of the concept and its feasibility, devising the Basis for Design and thereafter partnering with technology licensors and Engineering contractors in developing the design with subsequent construction, and commissioning.

Another noteworthy and innovative achievement on the project was the development of the dynamic simulator which in this case is a highly advanced, integrated and High-fidelity version of the simulator technically known as a Multipurpose Dynamic Simulator (MPDS) that provides a virtual interface to the plant together with its control & SIS systems that allows for training, design validation and troubleshooting of the facility in a real time yet virtual environment. Ashok has been central to the development of this tool which is the first ever in Shell and first of its kind in the Polyethylene industry. This together with Ashok`s sound experience were critical success factors in resolution of thousands of issues during the virtual Commissioning and Start-Up resulted in a flawless operationalization of PE Units. MPDS testing and resolution of design issues resulting in avoiding at least 15 days start-up delay for Polyethylene units (59 days for site) and $6-7 Million saving in the training cost due to training on a high-fidelity, unit-specific simulation model.

The Final Investment Decision on the opportunity was taken in 2016 where Ashok`s irreplaceable contributions were recognized by the management of Shell as being a key success factor in securing a credible and affordable business case that could justify a positive investment decision. The outcome of all these years of dedication and efforts from Ashok and the wider team stands tall in the form of a world class operating polyethylene facility now known as Shell Polymers Monaca. This facility is the first major polyethylene manufacturing complex in the Northeastern United States, now in operation, has catalyzed the re-industrialization of the Pittsburgh region.

In addition to his technical work, Ashok is actively involved in contributing back to the community. He is a founder and Vice president of an employee resource group within Shell to support Asian talent. Ashok has recently joined the External Advisory Board of Polymer Engineering & Science at, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College to help improve Curriculum and make it more responsive to current day industry needs and challenges.