Monday 29 October 2007

Chevron Chief appointed new co-chair of Step Change in Safety

Rick Cohagan, managing director of Chevron Upstream Europe, has been appointed new co-chair of Step Change in Safety. He will work with the Step Change leadership team and co-chair Doug Halkett on improving the oil and gas industrys safety record, with the aim of making the UK the safest place to work in the world-wide oil and gas industry.

Rick Cohagan received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 1978 and joined Chevron the same year as a Facilities Engineer. He has held a variety of upstream technical and managerial positions including assignments in Colorado, Texas, Wyoming, and Louisiana. Rick Cohagan was Country Manager, Argentina from 2002 to 2004 located in Buenos Aries. Prior to his current assignment, Rick was Vice President, Mid Continent SBU for Chevron North America Exploration & Production from 2004 to 2006.

Rick Cohagan said: "Like everyone else involved with Step Change, I have a real passion for safety and I am looking forward to my new role as co-chair of this important industry partnership.  As an industry, it is absolutely essential that we adopt an open approach to safety and engage everyone from the boardroom to the field in sharing perspectives on safety in order to overcome the challenges we currently face.  I am convinced that the industrys safety performance will continue to improve. Industry-wide collaboration is the real key to achieving our objective of world-class safety performance within the UK Oil and Gas sector."

Ian Aitchison, Step Change support team leader, welcomed the appointment: "We are delighted that Rick Cohagan has accepted the role of co-chair. His continuous contribution and commitment sets a prime example of the industrys co-operation, engagement and identification with Step Change. His experience, drive and passion for safety will be a valuable asset for the Step Change leadership team, helping us to address the safety challenges of a maturing offshore industry."

The Step Change in Safety initiative was founded in 1997 by the Oil and Gas industry trade associations with the aim of reducing the UK offshore Oil and Gas industry injury rate by 50%. Its work has succeeded in uniting the industry at all levels on the essential issue of safety in the workplace.

Step Change in Safety is made up of a Leadership Team comprising the Managing Directors of fifteen operator and contractor companies and representatives from seven trade associations, including the UK Health and Safety Executive and the Trade Unions. It is this broad stakeholder base that makes Step Change in Safety effective across the whole industry. 

For further information, please contact:

Britta Hallbauer Oil & Gas UK Media Relations                  3^rd Floor, the Exchange 2                                       62 Market Street Aberdeen AB11 5PJ                                                                  Tel:      01224 577331 Fax:    020 7802 2401 Email: bhallbauer@oilandgasuk.co.uk Mob:   07891769113