Shell wins at Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards

14 August 2014

Shell takes premier title at Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards

Special award for Sir Colin Maiden

The Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards were held last night in Auckland to recognise achievement and excellence in the New Zealand energy sector.

Over 640 guests attended the spectacular black-tie event at the Langham Hotel.

The Minister of Energy and Resources, Hon Simon Bridges, was the guest of honour and keynote speaker at the event. The minister congratulated all the winners and finalists. "The people, the businesses and what we are doing make this one of the most exciting industries that there is," he says.

Shell won the premier Overall Energy Company of the Year award. According to the judging panel, it was Shell’s investment in securing New Zealand’s energy future that was one of the key catalysts for its success.

Shell – a global “supermajor” – operates the country’s largest oil and gas fields Maui, Pohokura and Kapuni, and is embarking on new exploration in the Great South and New Caledonia Basins.
“In the past year a robust development programme at Maui and Kapuni has paid off leading to upward reserve revisions and extension of the life of both fields,” says chairman of the judging panel Richard Westlake. “The company also secured funding from its global parent for frontier exploration, and has committed to drilling a well in the Great South Basin and assessing the prospectivity of the New Caledonia Basin.”

The Energy Executive of the Year was awarded to Harvey Weake from Methanex. Weake led the restart of the country’s mothballed methanol plants, striking valuable new gas supply deals and returning Methanex’ three New Zealand methanol trains to full production. The result underpinning gas development in the country and significantly increasing methanol exports. Weake has now been promoted to a global role with Methanex.

Sir Colin Maiden received the award for making an outstanding contribution to the sector, awarded by editor of Energy News, Gavin Evans.

Evans says that the award last night particularly recognised Maiden’s contribution to energy research in his roles as the founding chair of the New Zealand Energy Research and Development Committee formed in 1974, and the Liquid Fuels Trust Board that followed in 1978. “He then went on to chair the New Zealand Synthetic Fuels Corporation which completed the US$1.22 billion synthetic fuels plant at Motunui in 1985,” he says.

Maiden, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Auckland, served 16 years on the board of the New Zealand Refining Company. He spent 10 years on the board of Transpower, and chaired the SOE board for seven years from 1997.

Westlake says that the calibre of this year’s entries was very high. “The judging panel has been in the privileged position of seeing the work of New Zealand’s best energy businesses and learning of their successes,” he says. “It was a real challenge to select finalists and ultimately winners from the diversity and high quality of entries.”

The principal sponsor for the event is Deloitte.

Deloitte partner and energy sector leader Scott McClay congratulated all the winners in this year’s Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards.

“Deloitte is thrilled to again be associated with recognising the best and brightest in the energy sector, and the valuable contribution they make to New Zealand’s economy. The entries in this year’s awards were outstanding and clearly showed that innovation and striving for excellence continues to be well and truly alive in the sector.”

The MC for the evening was television celebrity and comedian Jesse Mulligan. The opening featured a Japanese drumming spectacular and a surprise appearance from comedian Urzila Carlson who delighted the audience.

The event was attended at an executive level within the energy sector across the electricity, gas and petroleum disciplines.

The event is run annually by Freeman Media, publisher of online news and information service Energy News www.energynews.co.nz

THE WINNERS:

Innovation in Energy Award – sponsored by Gentrack
Amethyst Hydro Power Station

Energy Project of the Year – sponsored by ITL
Transpower – The HVDC link upgrade project

Excellence in Health & Safety Award – sponsored by Electricity Networks Association
Genesis Energy – A zero-harm culture

Environmental Excellence Award – sponsored by PEPANZ
Energyworks – Environmental leadership in pipeline construction

Young Energy Executive of the Year - sponsored by ABB
Grady Cameron – chief executive officer, Delta Utility Services and Aurora Energy

Energy Executive of the Year – sponsored by WorleyParsons
Harvey Weake – senior vice-president manufacturing, Methanex

Lines Company of the Year – sponsored by TE Connectivity
Northpower

Energy Retailer of the Year – sponsored by Chapman Tripp
BP

Overall Energy Company of the Year – sponsored by Port Taranaki
Shell New Zealand

Editor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Sector – sponsored by MB Century
Sir Colin Maiden

ENDS

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