WIRELINE AUTUMN 2014 ISSUE 29

CHEF MANAGER

PROFILE

GE’s Broadfold Road and Brent Avenue sites in Aberdeen are primarily responsible for manufacturing subsea production trees and components such as master valve blocks (MVBs), before the equipment is installed across projects in the North Sea and worldwide. © General Electric 2014 – All Rights Reserved Working o fshore as a chef manager on th Buchan platfo m combines Dominic Symonds’ passion or food with a lifelong fascinati for the offsh re oil and gas industry d ting back to his school days. He believes working off hore has given him life experience at he wouldn’t have got from any other car er, making him feel rewarded and fulfilled

Savouring offshore life A school project first whetted Dominic Symonds’ appetite for working in the oil and gas industry. Today, he’s a chef manager on the Buchan platform in the central North Sea and he relishes his role at the very centre of installation life. Wireline caught up with him to find out more. “24 -hours a day, seven days a week” – co-ordinating a service of this magnitude six-strong team employed by contractor Sodexo Remote Sites. They run a 24-hour operation, taking care of all catering, relationship. He says: “Working offshore is like a family – that’s the only way I can describe it.

laundry, cleaning and handyman duties for a platform crew that typically numbers just over 80. There are always team members on duty and the kitchen is never closed. For Dominic it’s an enjoyable way of life because it is not about a client-customer

can be challenging. Good thing chef manager Dominic Symonds thrives on offshore life. As chef manager on Talisman Sinopec Energy UK’s Buchan platform in the central North Sea, Dominic heads up a

“When you go onto an installation or rig, you become part of that family. We all look after each other; from the offshore installation manager through to the catering team, there’s no difference.”

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