Steve
- Born In Kalgoorlie. Father was Station Master and mother a teacher.
- Heritage: English, Irish, German and Italian.
- Left Kalgoorlie when I was two.
- Mover to Tambellup in the south west where we had family involved in farming.
- Three brothers were born there.
Family
- Wife Susan, we have been married for 37 years.
- Lived in Leeming for 36 years before moving to Salter Point in June.
- A daughter Samantha (Insurance Broker) and two boys Daniel (Banking) & Andrew (Draftsman). Three grandchildren with a fourth due in December.
- On the animal front, we normally have a dog but not at the moment.
Education
- Moved to Perth when I was 11 for education opportunities.
- Along with my brothers attended Aquinas College.
- Lived in Rossmoyne and travelled to school by boat.
- Completed an Applied Science degree at Curtin University and followed this with a Science degree at Murdoch University - both in the environmental area.
Work History
- Worked briefly with the Kwinana Town Council before Joining Alcoa at the Kwinana Alumina Refinery where I worked in the environmental and occupational health areas.
- Attended Sydney University to complete a post graduate course in workplace monitoring and exposure.
- Worked in a range of environmental and technical roles initially as an advisor and subsequently as a supervisor and manager.ally as Manager.
- Firstly as Chemical Services Manager then Environment, Health, Safety and Security Manager.
- Moved to Wagerup in the EHSS role to focus on community issues associated with the Wagerup expansion.
- During this time I engaged closely with the Community, Government and Industry bodies.
- Then moved to EHSS Manager role at WA level.
- This gave rise to a lot of travel – mainly to Pittsburgh and New York where I worked on the development of a Sustainability Policy for the organisation and two standards Australia Committees. Participated in international audits and business assessments – both for acquisition and divestiture.
- After 26 years I left Alcoa to join Chevron EHSS Manger – built-up a significant workforce to support WA Oil and then the Gorgon and Wheatstone projects.
Kuwait
- In 2013, moved to Kuwait to work on a Major Capital Project
- The main objective was to refurbishment of existing infrastructure and creation of new capacity at an oil field at Wafra in the partition zone between Kuwait and Saudi.
- 250,000 barrels of oil per day production capacity.
- Located on the border between Kuwait and Saudi.
- We lived in a compound at a Chevron site on the Persian Gulf about an hour’s drive from the field.
- Much of the infrastructure was destroyed during the first Gulf War
- $1 billion project, small expat management team, engineering capacity provided by Indians, labour by Indians, Egyptians and Jordanians
- Main challenges
- Heat
- Manual labour
- Driving
- Camels
- Ordinance
- Politics
For searing images of the Kuwait challenge Click here