Media Release – APPEA 2008 Conference & Exhibition
Monday, 7 April 2008
ARC EXECUTIVE WINS NATIONAL OIL & GAS AWARD
The Council of APPEA - Australia’s peak oil and gas advocacy group - has awarded its highest honour, the prestigious Reg Sprigg Medal for outstanding service to the industry, to Perth-based Arc Energy Managing Director, Mr Eric Streitberg.
In making the announcement today, APPEA Chairman, Mr Colin Beckett, paid tribute to Mr Streitberg’s long-standing commitment to conservation and engagement with traditional owners.
“Mr Streitberg is a figure of great stature in our industry, both figuratively and literally, and he is truly an example of how one person can energise and lead positive change,” Mr Beckett said.
“With over 36 years of experience in the industry, Mr Beckett is highly regarded by his peers for his manner, his values and for his passion for exploration in far-flung areas such as Canada, Bolivia, Libya, PNG and more recently in the Perth and Canning Basins of Western Australia.
“He has built companies that have outwardly expressed in their actions and activities, some of his own core values of respecting and valuing the people around him. Eric has extended that human touch in building strong partnerships with the indigenous communities in which Arc operates, prominent among those being the Noonkanbah people in northern WA.
“Similarly, his interest in conservation through his Chairmanship of the Western Australian Marine Parks and Reserves Authority has seen a system of marine reserves put in place that have adhered to the multiple use principle but have also taken major steps to ensuring we have a marine environment we and future generations can enjoy in a sustainable way.”
Mr Streitberg is a current APPEA Councillor has previously served as APPEA’s Vice-Chairman and Chairman of APPEA’s Exploration Committee.
APPEA Chief Executive, Ms Belinda Robinson, said it was fitting that Mr Streitberg’s background was similar to the man the award was named, in 1995, in honour of.
“Both Reg Sprigg and Eric Streitberg began their careers in the South Australian resources industry and they both share a common interest in conservation,” Ms Robinson said.
“Ironically, after graduating from the University of Queensland with degrees in geology and geophysics, Eric worked briefly near Arkaroola, Reg Sprigg’s iconic conservation area in the Flinders Ranges.
“The downturn in the industry in the early seventies saw Eric embark on a 12 year international odyssey that gave him experience working in other cultures and empathy for indigenous peoples, not to mention a good understanding of shoestring operations in frontier basins.”
Mr Streitberg’s first foray into the commercial world with his own vehicle was with Turkey Oil, followed by the float of Discovery Petroleum. Discovery was one of the few companies of the era that was successful in finding and developing onshore fields in Australia and laid the foundations for the subsequent success of ARC Energy. Arc Energy is continuing to extend Mr Streitberg’s work of discovering oil and gas onshore in Australia.
“Eric has displayed the focus, discipline and perseverance that is needed to be successful in our industry and to energise and lead positive change on the frontline, much like the revered Reg Sprigg,” Ms Robinson said
Reg Sprigg, a doyen of the Australian oil and gas industry, was the founding Chairman of APEA and led the association for its first six years from 1960-1966. Reg started his geological career in South Australia looking for uranium. His exploits as a geologist, oceanographer, explorer (he was the first to drive vehicles across the Simpson Desert) and conservationist are legendary and he was once described by former South Australian Governor, Sir Mark Oliphant, as ‘a truly great and creative Australian”. Reg Sprigg is also largely regarded as responsible for the discovery of petroleum in the Cooper Basin. Reg Sprigg was pivotal in convening the Association’s Conference and the industry has been grateful for his foresight in creating one of Australia’s leading technical and policy forums. The Conference, now in its 48th year, is the largest annual oil and gas industry event in the Southern hemisphere.
Media contact: Tim Langmead 0421 584 990
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