Travelling the globe with ExxonMobil

When Suzanne Borrett joined ExxonMobil twenty-two years ago, she never would have imagined all the amazing places across the globe her career was going to take her.

Over the span of her career, she has spent only her first four years based in Melbourne.

“At 25 years old, I was ecstatic to be given my first expat assignment based in Houston,” said Suzanne.

“It was an amazing opportunity, and I spent two years travelling the world as I supported ExxonMobil’s Upstream businesses on measurement standards, audits, issues and start-ups.

“From there, I spent a further almost 6 years in Houston in a variety of roles including managing a technical team supporting all our US upstream operations getting to travel across the United States.

I was then seconded to Chevron supporting start up and early operations of the Gorgon LNG Project. Working with another major oil and gas company gave me some truly unique insights and perspectives.”

Suzanne then spent three years living and working in Papua New Guinea with her family, with half this time working in a completely different field as National Content Advisor.  In this role she was involved in ensuring opportunities for local workforce, supplier and community development though ExxonMobil’s National Content programs in PNG, and although she had never worked across this area before, it became of keen interest to her.

“It took me by surprise just how passionate I became, and continue to be about the impact the Company can have on the communities in which we operate.”

She is now located in Perth supporting Gorgon Operations as well as taking on the role as the Joint Interest Asset Manager for BWI Oil, Thevenard, Griffin and Woollybutt Joint Ventures, which are all late life oil assets located in Western Australia in various stages of decommissioning.

“The opportunity to work on Gorgon, the largest single-resource development in Australia's history and one of the world's largest natural gas projects, is something I am grateful for. After six years of operation, it was rewarding to recently see Gorgon reach its highest gas production week since start-up.”

This year, Suzanne will sit on the judging panel for the 2022 WA Premier’s Science Award, to assist in the selection of the winner for ExxonMobil’s Student Scientist of the Year Award.

This is the ninth year ExxonMobil has sponsored the awards program, with the Student Scientist of the Year Award award to recognise an outstanding postgraduate student who has demonstrated a commitment to science at an early stage.

“Working across a range of roles all around the world with ExxonMobil cemented a travel bug in me, and I’ve loved maintaining a positive work-life balance to enjoy the unique locations I have lived in with my family.

“I encourage others within the industry to keep an open mind and make the most of any opportunity presented to you. Even if you feel like it’s not quite the right fit for you, uncharacteristic opportunities can often offer the most potential for you to grow and be the most rewarding.”