Ross Stidolph appointed director of merged branch.
| Date: | Thursday, 24 July 2014 |
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DMP announces the appointment of new Director for Dangerous Goods and Petroleum Safety, Ross Stidolph.
The Department of Mines and Petroleum’s Acting Executive Director for Resources Safety Ivor Roberts today announced the appointment of new Director for Dangerous Goods and Petroleum Safety, Ross Stidolph.
The new position was created following a structural review and merge of the department’s dangerous goods and petroleum safety branches on 1 July this year.
The new branch brings together two regulatory groups that manage similar safety issues, creating a more consistent and robust regulatory approach to critical risk assessment.
Dr Roberts said with more than 30 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, Mr Stidolph will be an invaluable leader for the new branch.
“An engineer by trade, Mr Stidolph has spent most of his career working in management positions at Kwinana’s BP refinery, one of the largest major hazard facilities in the State,” Dr Roberts said.
“He has extensive experience with the department’s safety regulations and brings a unique operators perspective to safety performance and obligations.”
Mr Stidolph said his new role will initially focus on delivering dangerous goods regulatory reforms and completing a statutory review of the Dangerous Goods Safety Act.
“I am very passionate about working to provide better safety outcomes and processes for industry,” he said.
“One of the major achievements in my career to date has been the significant improvement in safety performance that occurred during my time at Verve Energy (now Synergy) as Chief Operating Officer.”
Mr Stidolph said another highlight was working in Scotland for four years at Grangemouth’s major petrochemical complex where the North Sea’s oil and gas pipeline terminates.
“Living and working in the United Kingdom at a major hazards facility was a huge experience for me and my then young family,” he said.
“Growing up in South Australia near a rocket range and test firing facility, I had a unique introduction to the dangerous goods industry at a very young age.
“Although I didn’t realise it at the time, dangerous goods safety would go on to play a major part of my career and become something I am very passionate about.”
Mr Stidolph has a degree in Electrical Engineering and is a fellow of the Institute of Engineers.
His appointment as Director for Dangerous Goods and Petroleum Safety commenced on 1 July 2014.
