Media release – Former APPEA Vice-Chair receives Queen’s Birthday honours

Richard Owen has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to business in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.  

Mr Owen served as an APPEA Board Member from 2013–2019, and as Chair of the Executive Committee from 2018–2019. He was also an APPEA Vice Chairman from 2015–2017. 

The Queen’s Birthday Honours list recognised the achievements of 1,190 Australians across a wide variety of careers and backgrounds this year.  

The breadth of Mr Owen’s experience is well-known within the Australian oil and gas industry. He is a former ExxonMobil executive, having served with the company in various roles for 37 years before his retirement from his roles of Chair and Lead Country Manager in 2020.  

He initially graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering before embarking on his career, which took him to places such as the USA (including New Orleans and Alaska), Germany, and Indonesia.  

Mr Owen eventually returned to his home country in 2013 as the Chairman of ExxonMobil Australia after more than a decade overseas. 

During his tenure, he oversaw a series of important integrations at the company’s Australian operations, including commissioning of the Kipper–Tuna–Turrum project and Longford Gas Conditioning Plant; replacement of the Longford to Long Island Point liquids pipeline; the fostering of a relationship between ExxonMobil and Opera Australia; and much more. 

APPEA would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge Mr Owen’s long and storied career in the oil and gas industry, and we offer him our congratulations. 

Read the media release