The Beginning

After leaving university in 1985, I worked in the research and development facility of a company on a new man-made fibre. Over the course of my career, I started to specialise in the design side of chemical engineering, culminating in managing process design. In 1997 I decided to take a career break to look after my two daughters.

Living and working locally meant I was already familiar with ConocoPhillips' excellent reputation as an employer. I could see the petrochemical industry was one where significant investment was still being made, offering great opportunities for career development. Both of these factors meant that, when I decided to return to work, ConocoPhillips was top of the list of companies I hoped to work for. At my interview it was apparent that, although I had not worked in the petrochemical field before, the company could see the value of my experience as a design engineer and they offered me a position as a process engineer in the Technical Services Division in 2006.

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My work at ConocoPhillips

My day-to-day work is focused on projects to improve the safety and reliability of the refinery. In my role I work closely with the other project disciplines, often acting as a link between the project team and operations. In my first year I was involved in a wide variety of projects ranging from pigging liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) lines for inspection and installing an interlock system on coke drums, to providing detailed cost estimates for the Environment Agency. I get a great deal of personal satisfaction from seeing how my work directly benefits the refinery and the people who work there. 

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Career Development

As an experienced engineer I see the value of good training for my continued professional development. The training opportunities at Humber are excellent. As well as general safety and environmental awareness training, I have been able to attend many courses on technical issues. I also had the opportunity to visit Ponca City, Okla in the United States to attend an introduction to refining course and, just as importantly, to meet and develop links with the many specialist engineers based in the central engineering facility there.

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The Future

Within the refinery, process engineers work in a wide range of roles dependent on their skills and aspirations. I enjoy project work and I am keen to stay in this field. In the future I see myself taking on further responsibilities for management of projects of all sizes. I am confident that ConocoPhillips will provide me with these challenges for many years to come.

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