New refinery boss is finally on board
THE new Canadian boss of the Geelong refinery jokes that his fortnight in quarantine gave him time to get over his jet lag.
But the enforced isolation in May also meant Dale Cooper undertook his safety training and onboarding online and was introduced to some new colleagues via Skype as he prepared to take the reins of one of Geelong’s largest employers.
It is just one example of how the landscape has changed since last September, when Mr Cooper began the recruitment process to become executive general manager of Viva Energy’s Geelong Refinery, taking over from Thys Heyns.
Mr Cooper said critical in his initial discussions with Viva was the company’s commitment to manufacturing in Geelong, where it has a nameplate capacity to produce 120,000 barrels a day and a workforce of 700 people.
“And I absolutely got that sense as I worked my way through the interview process, in terms of the refinery being a cornerstone of security of supply to the region and to our customers. That was very encouraging for me,” Mr Cooper said.
In December, he and wife
Jeannie spent four days in Geelong, touring the refinery one Friday night before a weekend checking out the coast.
After finalising their arrangements in January, the Coopers sold their house in Canada with the intention of flying out on March 31.
“But the (Australian) borders closed on March 20 and all of the international flights dried up,” Mr Cooper said.
The coronavirus lockdown precipitated a 2½-month delay in his arrival in Australia while Mrs Cooper is still a week away from making the trip and undertaking a similar period in quarantine.
In the meantime, COVID-19 has forced dramatic changes upon the refinery.
The massive fall in demand for aviation fuel, a worldwide oil glut and a drop in domestic fuel consumption conspired to see the refinery losing more than a $1 million a week through the first half of the year.
A planned shutdown to do a $140 million cracker turnaround was revised and rescheduled.
And new plans to create a major energy hub involving importing and processing LNG, a creation of a solar energy plan and possibly development of other energy sources such as hydrogen were announced.
Mr Cooper said that back in September the energy hub was not on his radar, but he was excited by the company’s longterm vision.
“The way I would view it is these adjacent businesses build upon our core business in Geelong of having a safe, reliable and competitive refinery,” he said.
Now five weeks into the role, Mr Cooper is pressing ahead in a commercial and operating environment that is significantly different to his first visit to the refinery seven months ago.