Emily Brooke - Petroleum Engineer at Santos

On Tuesday, 17th November 2020, the Energy Club WA (formerly Petroleum Club of WA) held its first Industry Awards Dinner. An evening of celebration, we acknowledged those who continually go above and beyond, strive for excellence, and exceed expectations, reaching out to inspire the local community to connect with our industry. 

Named in honour of our dear friend and colleague, the Brooke Arnot Excellence Award was developed to recognise the outstanding work of young professionals within our industry, whether at work, outside of work or through volunteer work. 

It's safe to say we work with some truly amazing people. We were pleased to congratulate Emily Brooke, Petroleum Engineer at Santos as our 2020 Brooke Arnot Excellence Award recipient. Emily was awarded for her passion, devotion, and encouragement of the younger generation to join our industry.

In addition to a demanding role at work, Emily is always eager to help out and volunteer. Whether as
a mentor for the next generation schools’ program at the club or internal programs within Santos at various careers fairs and participating in the Ronald McDonald House cooking nights. 

In her nomination form, Emily's colleagues commended Emily on her work ethic, "Emily excels as the Petroleum Engineer for Santos's three WA producing gas fields and volunteers to assist industry and charity organisations." 

Remarking on how "She is passionate about our industry and is keen to share that enthusiasm with the students, helping educate them on the disconnect between current opinions and trying to correct the negative image of how our industry is perceived."

Like many, Emily wrestled with which path to take after completing high school, 'I had no idea what I wanted to do'. After settling on and completing a three-year general science degree, Emily decided to take a gap year. 

'I was saving for an extended trip to Europe and started working as an administrative assistant for an oil and gas company. While working there, I became interested
in Petroleum Engineering - something I had never before considered as a career path - and decided to take a leap of faith and study a postgraduate degree.
Luckily, I loved the course!' said Emily. 

After completing her additional studies, Emily was fortunate to accept a graduate position with Santos, which has since seen her career flourish. At present, Emily is the Petroleum Engineer for the Western Australian operated gas assets, which produce into the Varanus Island and Devil Creek gas plants, supplying the WA domestic gas market. 

'The work is so interesting and very fast-paced. I am always learning something new. At times, travelling to site almost felt like a holiday - Varanus Island is just beautiful and spending two weeks there with daily visits to the Reindeer Platform was incredible.' said Emily.

When asked how she felt about winning the Petroleum Club of WA's highest accolade and how it impacted her professional career, Emily replied, "I am so humbled and grateful to be recognised by the Petroleum Club and awarded the Brooke Arnot Excellence Award. It's been so lovely how many people have reached out to congratulate me - which has really helped me build my network." Her trophy is now proudly on display on her desk in her office.

In addition to the acknowledgement, Emily was presented with a $1,000 voucher to put towards a training or educational course of her choice, courtesy of award sponsor, INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG joint venture. 

When asked if she had any advice for aspiring nominees for this year's awards category, Emily replied, "consider yourself worthy of a nomination - there are so many great young professionals in our industry making a difference."

Emily also hopes we, as an industry, can continue to encourage and mentor the younger talent to join our industry. "There is so much exciting work happening in the energy space - it is an important and critical area to be working in," said Emily. 

Congratulations to Emily and her fellow recipients in the other award categories; the Technical/Trade Professional award went to Daniel Zdraveski. The team at Hazer Group Limited took out the Industry Game Changer award. 

If you know an individual who instils a positive influence within your workplace or the broader community, we encourage you to nominate them for the 2021 Brooke Arnot Excellence Award. Applications for all categories will open in September.

To find out more about the awards, contact the club.