AMOSC Appoints New Manager

Craig McGrath, the Chairman of the Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre, today announced the appointment of WJ (Ivan) Skibinski as the new Manager of the Centre.

Mr Skibinski currently works for Santos where he is the Operations Support Manager. In more than 20 years with Santos Mr. Skibinksi has held a number of operations management positions including, Manager Port Bonython, where responsibilities included the Marine Facility and the Fractionation Plant. During this period Mr. Skibinski was a member of the South Australian State Disaster Committee. As Moomba Area Manager, he was in charge of the field based operations in the South Australian Cooper Basin including the Moomba Facility, which is the largest on-shore oil and gas production and processing operation in Australia.

Prior to joining Santo, Mr. Skibinski served for 12 years in the Royal Navy, primarily with the Submarine Service.

In announcing the appointment, Mr McGrath said Mr Skibinski brings to AMOSC a wealth of experience and skills in managing oil industry operations and emergency responses, including marine oil spill contingency planning.

The current Manager of AMOSC, Don Blackmore, will be retiring early in 2004 after more than 11 years in the position. Mr McGrath praised Mr Blackmore for his outstanding efforts in establishing AMOSC as the focal point for Australian oil industry expertise in oil spill response, and for his personal contributions in leading the AMOSC to become an internationally recognised centre of excellence for oil spill training, contingency planning and practical response capabilities.