What it does: Oil and gas exploration and production
Staff stats: 11,400
The good bits: Competitive pay, conditions and corporate culture
The not so good bits: Working in remote locations
Hiring grads with degrees in: Engineering, Maths, IT & Computer Sciences
ConocoPhillips is the world’s largest independent oil and gas exploration and production company, based on proved reserves and production of liquids and natural gas. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has operations in 17 countries. It established operations in Australia almost two decades ago, with activities in the Northern Territory, Queensland, Timor Sea, Timor-Leste and Western Australia. Australia West is headquartered in Perth and manages all federal affairs and nationally leveraged shared services as well as the Bayu-Undan project, Darwin LNG and in Timor-Leste. It also manages other potential developments including Caldita-Barossa, Greater Poseidon and Greater Sunrise.
Australia East is headquartered in Brisbane and manages state affairs in Queensland, specifically, ConocoPhillips shareholder interests in the Australia Pacific LNG project as operator of the LNG facilities on Curtis Island. Most Australian staff are based in Perth, Darwin, Brisbane, and Gladstone.
ConocoPhillips invests in programs through charitable contributions, community sponsorships, and via small grants to eligible grassroots organisations where its employees choose to volunteer. The company contributes time and financial support through its joint ventures as part of their commitment to address economic, environmental and social impacts of the business. Through community investments, ConocoPhillips “prioritises environmental programs” that support integrated solutions for water issues and biodiversity, and that support Indigenous land and water-based enterprise in the areas near its operational assets.
If you’re interested in a career at ConocoPhillips and in your penultimate year at uni, you may wish to apply for the company’s Vacation Work Program. This runs for 12 weeks between November and February at the company’s Perth, Brisbane and Darwin offices. To be eligible for a spot in the company’s ‘Accelerate’ graduate program, you will have a background in one or more of the following:
To apply you will need to create a profile and fill out an online application. If shortlisted, you will be invited to undertake online psychometric testing, and the final stage involves two rounds of interviews. If successful, you will be enrolled in a program comprising of on-the-job work assignments, technical and non-technical training, mentoring and networking opportunities. You will study at the company’s ‘global Engineering Academy’, gaining access to the expertise of global specialists in their fields. You will have plenty of opportunities to increase your industry knowledge and develop your technical skills, and there will be career coaches and technical mentors encouraging you to capitalise on [your] individual abilities.
ConocoPhillips provides “world-class benefits and performance-based compensation packages”. There are also “flexible benefits plans to help you meet individual and/or family needs and balance your life/work priorities”. The company cares about its staff’s health and wellbeing sufficiently to provide “onsite programs and amenities wherever our locations allow”. Australian employees get an annual cash bonus (the size of which is “based upon company, business and individual performance”), competitive superannuation, paid parental leave and access to a share plan.
The company seeks to “develop talent, build capability and pinpoint local and global leaders at ConocoPhillips locations around the world”. If you show promise, it won’t be long until you’re ‘talent-spotted’ and encouraged to develop the “critical skill sets” that will be useful in addressing the company’s future business needs.
The company has provided a checklist of the behaviours it expects employees to demonstrate if they wish to keep moving up the org chart. Here is the list:
ConocoPhillips runs its business under a set of guiding principles called SPIRIT Values. SPIRIT is an acronym for Safety, People, Integrity, Responsibility, Innovation and Teamwork. These set the tone for how the company interacts with all stakeholders and are the values on which the company builds and retains a world-class, committed and experienced workforce.
"Across our 17 countries of operations, over 11,000 people work in a truly integrated way to find and produce oil and natural gas. Our technical capabilities, asset quality and scale, and financial strength are unmatched among independent exploration and production companies and uniquely position us to compete around the world.
ConocoPhillips is committed to the efficient and effective exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Producing oil and natural gas and getting them to market takes ingenuity, technology and investment. Our innovative, collaborative efforts yield products that improve the quality of life globally while producing economic benefits with far-reaching influence.
Key focus areas include safely operating producing assets, executing existing major projects and exploring for new energy resources in promising areas. Our portfolio includes legacy assets in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. In Australia, we operate the Australia Pacific LNG facility in Gladstone, Queensland, the Bayu-Undan Facility in the Timor Sea, and the Darwin LNG facility in the Northern Territory.
We also have exploration and appraisal projects in northern Australia including the Greater Poseidon, Caldita-Barossa and Greater Sunrise fields.
Safety, People, Integrity, Responsibility, Innovation and Teamwork - our SPIRIT values underpin everything we do as we work together to deliver outstanding results and achieve our goals."
Graduate Process Engineer at ConocoPhillips
Bachelor of Engineering Science at The University of Queensland (UQ)