Refinery recruits adding value to the Commercial team

ExxonMobil Australia is committed to nurturing and retaining our skilled and talented workforce. Our people are encouraged to follow their professional development interests and build their skill sets in multiple areas of the business.

Commercial Analysts Danielle Grant and Nick Diaz are prime examples of how employees can move across business functions, and utilise knowledge gained in previous roles to add value.

Both Danielle and Nick, along with their colleagues Nick Burchell and Nick Smith, had the opportunity to move across to the Esso Australia Commercial team as a result of Altona refinery’s transition to a fuel import terminal and they are already making an impact in their new roles.

Nick and Danielle are thrilled that their new roles will enable them to be a part of the solution at a crucial time in the industry.

Danielle said, “In this team, I feel like I have a front-row seat to the energy transition in which gas has a critical role to play.”

“It’s a great opportunity to be involved in the energy transition from within a company that will play an important role globally in how the world achieves carbon reduction targets, while managing reliable energy supply,” agreed Nick.

Beginning their careers at the refinery as graduates, Danielle and Nick embraced opportunities to work in a variety of roles. At Altona, Danielle worked as an Electrical Engineer, Project Manager, Crude Scheduler and Product Planner, which provided her with a sound knowledge base of operations.

As a Commercial Analyst, Danielle helps to assess how Esso Australia can best maintain our supply of Gippsland gas to our customers.

“I have experience working with an aging asset on challenging margins in an uncertain market, so that knowledge assists me now that I am involved in running economic models to assess future opportunities for our gas business.”

Nick worked as a Process Engineer, a role involving data analysis and forecasting, skills that are very relevant to Commercial team as the team looks to understand gas market trends. Later, he moved into the Refinery Coordination team, where he learned about optimising operations and logistics to meet market demand.

For Nick, the move to the Commercial team was a long-term professional goal that has now been realised. 

“Working in an operating environment for the first 7 years of my career, I was interested in further developing a commercial skill-set and broadening my exposure in other areas of the energy industry.”

In addition to his work as Commercial Analyst, Nick has been back filling a Supply Planner role, which he believes has helped him transition to his new team by providing a broad overview of operations and the customer base.

“In order to add value as a Supply Planner, you need a strong understanding of our commercial portfolio, as well as the mechanisms by which we sell, store and transport gas.”