PNG engineer wins best speech award in Canberra

A PAPUA New Guinean engineer with Oil Search Ltd (OSL) has won the 2011 best impromptu speech Award at the 30th Australian gas industry trust speak colloquium held in Canberra, Australia, recently.
Kila Pidi, a mechanical engineer by training and a pipeline/facilities construction engineer by profession, is the technical manager for OSL based in the company’s corporate office in Sydney.
Pidi was selected to attend the annual Australian gas industry trust (Agit) sponsored gas speak conference in Canberra and presented a topic on coal Seam methane gas exploration in Papua New Guinea, in particular Western province because of his engagement as the project manager for that exploration project.
Apart from his actual presentation, Pidi had to undergo a one-day intensive workshop on public speaking as part of the three-day event led by Talkforce Communications.
An impromptu session was then organised on the last day of the conference to test what participants had acquired and learnt from the event in terms of public speaking.
Skills that were assessed included the appropriate use of hand gestures, reasonable eye contact, level of confidence, clarity of the voice and the good use of projectors, pointers and slide show presentations.
Participants picked their own topics for the impromptu speeches using secret ballot and Pidi was too happy to share his experiences about his best and worst meals and where he had consumed those meals.
Among various senior industry professionals that attended this year’s Agit gas speak were Australian Federal Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson and Australian Pipeline Industry Association (Apia) chief executive Cheryl Cartwright.
Pidi, who has worked for OSL for 17 years, is currently responsible for providing technical and engineering advice for a number of new oil and gas development opportunities for the company.
Prior to his current role, Pidi has worked with Chevron Niugini as a project engineer for oil production and processing facilities in the field operations in the Southern Highlands province from 1994-2008.
During this time, he also managed various construction and engineering contracts and was instrumental as the production engineer for sub-surface oil production optimisation programs. Pidi was also the mechanical engineer responsible for safety systems within Oil Search.
Pidi’s innovation and determination saw him become the Brisbane based team leader for oil and gas implementation projects and on to project manager for new oil production and processing facilities both onshore and offshore and contract manager for Worley Parsons Design and Engineering team from 2008-2010.
In 2010, Pidi was then relocated to Sydney where he is also project manager – exploration drilling for coal seam gas; team leader – gas fields concept development studies, capital expenditure (Capex) estimates for oil and gas field developments.
 and related technologies. He is also responsible for research into concepts such as floating LNG, Power/Electricity developments and LNG as fuel for transport.
Oil Search is extremely proud of Pidi’s outstanding achievements and will continue to support his development and that of its national workforce.